FG distributes 215,000 maternal kits

The Federal Government has rolled out 215,000 MAMA kits, 40,000 maternal food-support packs and 40,000 sets of newborn clothing for vulnerable women and families nationwide.

First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu said the scale of the challenge required collective action to ensure that the interventions reached pregnant women, particularly those in poor, underserved and hard-to-reach communities.

Speaking at the flag-off of the distribution at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, the First Lady said pregnancy and childbirth should be occasions of hope rather than a threat to the lives of Nigerian women.

“This occasion represents a further step towards ensuring that every Nigerian child has a healthy start in life and that no woman loses her life while giving birth”, she said.

The intervention is being implemented under the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and is designed to encourage greater use of antenatal, delivery and postnatal services.

Mrs. Tinubu described MAMII as a bold national intervention bringing together critical stakeholders to tackle preventable maternal and newborn deaths through greater awareness, emergency care and more effective referral systems.

“As a mother, I believe pregnancy and childbirth should be moments of hope and joy, with every woman having access to quality care. However, social, economic, cultural, and logistical barriers still exist. This is what makes today’s flag-off particularly significant,” the First Lady said.

According to her, the 215,000 MAMA kits and bags constitute the second batch of the intervention, following the distribution of 110,000 kits in 2025.

She said the government was complementing the kits with 40,000 maternal food-support packs and 40,000 sets of essential newborn clothing, and would later expand the intervention to additional local government areas where uptake of MAMII services remained low.

Mrs. Tinubu explained that the incentives were intended to encourage economically disadvantaged pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics, prepare adequately for childbirth and remain connected to healthcare services after delivery.

“The newborn clothing represents the administration’s commitment to welcoming every Nigerian child with dignity, warmth, and care.

“The maternal food support equally recognises that the health and nutrition of a mother are essential to a healthy pregnancy, safe delivery, and a healthy newborn,” she said.

She urged state and local governments, as well as traditional and religious leaders, development partners, and philanthropists, to work with the Federal Government to ensure the materials reached women who needed them most.

The First Lady also highlighted interventions she had supported in maternal and child healthcare, including the provision of professional kits to midwives, retraining of frontline health workers and advocacy against mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Pate, said the intervention was part of a wider Federal Government strategy to expand access to essential healthcare and reverse the country’s high burden of preventable maternal and neonatal deaths.

According to him, the government’s sector-wide approach targets a 30 per cent reduction in maternal mortality and a 20 per cent reduction in newborn mortality by 2028, with approximately 2.9 million pregnant women and families expected to benefit.

He said MAMII was already being implemented in several states, focusing on emergency obstetric and newborn care, transportation, referral systems and stronger primary healthcare delivery.

World Health Organisation Country Representative, Dr Pavel Ursu, said the success of the intervention would ultimately be measured by whether it improved women’s access to quality healthcare and saved lives.

“Primary health care is so important. It brings life-saving care closer to families, builds trust, and connects communities to wider health systems”, Ursu said.

He urged authorities to deploy data more effectively to identify gaps and channel resources to communities with the greatest needs.

“Data should show us who is being reached, where gaps remain and where action is most important”, he said, adding that “implementation will therefore matter as much as the ambition”.

Ursu also advocated greater ownership and domestic financing by states, stressing that although development partners could assist the country, Nigerian institutions would have to drive sustainable progress.

“Lasting progress must be rooted in Nigerian institutions, budgets, and accountability”, he said.

The WHO representative also paid tribute to healthcare workers, whose efforts, he said, remained central to translating government policies and investments into lives saved.

“Every day, often in difficult environments, they stand behind women and families at the most vulnerable moments. Their skills, dedication and compassion turn policies into lifesaving,” Ursu said.

Other development partners, including the World Bank, stressed the need for sustained financing, accountability and stronger health systems, noting that distributing material incentives must be matched by functional facilities, skilled personnel, effective referral systems, and quality healthcare.

The Federal Government said about 642,000 pregnant women had so far been moved to healthcare facilities within their communities, while more than 85,000 women had been transported for emergency care.

It added that more than 93,000 women had benefited from free life-saving surgical procedures nationwide, with the interventions contributing to a reported 22 per cent reduction in maternal mortality in facilities equipped to provide the services.

More than 250 health facilities across Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano and Katsina states are also implementing MAMII, with over 42,000 women and 1,700 newborns said to have benefited directly from emergency obstetric and newborn care.

Nearly 79,000 beneficiaries have also been transported to health facilities, while antenatal attendance and facility deliveries reportedly increased by about 20 per cent in areas covered by the programme within one quarter.