FG”s Safe Motherhood Initiative Targets 7m Women

The Federal Government on Monday launched guidelines on safe motherhood, targeting at least, seven million pregnant women, and at least six million newborns annually.

The Labour Care Guide and the Guidelines for Community Use of Misoprostol were launched in Abuja to commemorate the 2024 Safe Motherhood Day.

The National Safe Motherhood Day is an annual event marked on April 11 to create awareness and generate public dialogue on the best strategies and interventions that promote maternal and newborn health and survival within an integrated continuum of care.

This theme for this year is: ‘Investing in maternal health for a sustainable future.’

Speaking at the event, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, said Nigeria had a large burden of preventable maternal deaths and newborn mortality, hence, the need to take action.

“We have made progress, but it is not enough. Every death of a mother is an unfortunate incident. No level of maternal mortality is acceptable,” the minister said.

He identified postpartum haemorrhage as the major cause of maternal death in the country.

Pate noted that asphyxia and complications of preterm were responsible for the majority of newborn mortality cases.

“We have to ensure that all women in Nigeria have access to quality maternal care, irrespective of where you come from, so that we don’t leave any woman behind,” he said.

The minister said healthcare was a key component of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agency, saying the President had approved N25bn for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.

“We aim to reach at least seven million pregnant women through those services over time per year and at least six million newborn births on an annual basis.

“That’s an aspiration. We are not there yet, but that is what we should be aiming for so that no woman is left behind when it comes to access to quality maternal care, to have access to skilled birth attendants, facility birth delivery, and the screening of non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes in pregnancy, family planning, and to ensure affordability so that the Vulnerable Group Fund at the NHIA provides cover to reduce access to care for women,” he said.

The minister, who also launched the calibrated drape, noted that the introduction of the drape was an effective tool in significantly reducing postpartum haemorrhage by accurately measuring blood loss during childbirth, thus leading to early detection.

“By incorporating the calibrated drape into maternal health protocols, we can better monitor and manage a haemorrhage, ultimately saving the lives of mothers and their children.

“Our forecast and quantification of essential maternal health commodities including calibrated drapes will enhance the procurement, tracking, and accessibility by incorporating them into the Logistics Management Information System.

“Recognising the life-saving potential of one calibrated drape for one pregnant woman, this administration, in line with its agenda, will support the local production of calibrated drape and magnesium sulphate. I, therefore, support as a life-saving strategy, that each pregnant woman should have access to one calibrated drape,” the minister stated.

The United Nations Population Fund Resident Representative in Nigeria, Dr Gifty Addico, lamented that Nigeria had one of the highest maternal mortality ratios globally, with thousands of women dying each year due to preventable pregnancy and childbirth-related complications.