FG secures $65m pledge to reduce maternal, newborn deaths

Minister decries inconsistent, outdated health data

As part of efforts to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths in Nigeria, the federal government said it has secured $65 million in financial and in-kind commitments from seven private sector and philanthropic organisations.

The organisations include Bayer, UNICEF, DSM-Firmenich, Nestlé Nutrition Institute, Roche and Ferring Pharmaceuticals.

This comes as the government launched a new policy and implementation frameworks to improve emergency obstetric care, family planning, and the quality of maternal health services in the country.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Adekunle Salako, has called for stronger accountability in Nigeria’s health data management, warning that inconsistent and outdated statistics could undermine evidence-based policymaking and assessments of government interventions.

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed at the ongoing Joint Annual Review (JAR) meeting of the health sector in Abuja that the commitments are expected to address critical healthcare delivery gaps in 172 local councils identified as having the highest burden of maternal and newborn deaths.

Pate described the commitment, submitted through Letters of Intent under the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative Private Sector Compact, as a major boost to the drive to reduce maternal mortality.

He explained that the $65 million commitment was particularly significant given the prevailing economic challenges, noting that reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths remained a national priority under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

HOWEVER, Salako said the country must address discrepancies in health indicators by reconciling data from surveys and routine administrative records.

He identified maternal mortality as a major example of the problem, noting that the maternal mortality ratio of 512 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is frequently presented as a current figure, was actually the 2018 baseline.

Salako said the continued use of outdated statistics could distort the assessment of progress and make it difficult to determine the actual impact of interventions.

Among others, he also cited discrepancies in skilled birth attendance, which stood at about 86 per cent in facility reports but 50 per cent in the Mini Demographic and Health Survey.

Also speaking, the Lead of the SWAp Coordination Office, Dr Dayo Adeyanju, said MAMII was designed to address critical gaps across the maternal healthcare delivery chain, including supply chains, quality of services, skilled health personnel, emergency obstetric care and transportation.

He explained that the Private Sector Compact was established to mobilise private sector expertise, resources and technical capabilities to complement government efforts in addressing those challenges.