The Federal Government has rolled out 215,000 MAMA kits, 40,000 maternal food-support packs and 40,000 newborn clothing sets for vulnerable women and families across Nigeria.
The initiative is part of the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), aimed at encouraging pregnant women to access antenatal, delivery and postnatal services.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Abuja, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu called for stronger collaboration among federal, state and local governments, traditional and religious institutions, development partners and philanthropists to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.
She said the scale of Nigeria’s maternal health challenges required collective action, particularly to reach women in poor, underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
“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.”
Mrs Tinubu said pregnancy and childbirth should be periods of hope and joy rather than threats to women’s lives.
She explained that the 215,000 MAMA kits represented the second batch of the intervention, following the distribution of 110,000 kits in 2025.
The government is also providing 40,000 maternal food-support packs and 40,000 sets of essential newborn clothing.
According to the First Lady, the incentives are designed to encourage economically disadvantaged pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics, prepare for childbirth and remain connected to healthcare services after delivery.
“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 the programme would be expanded to additional local government areas where uptake of MAMII services remained low.
FG targets 30% reduction in maternal deaths.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, said the intervention forms part of a wider government strategy to expand access to essential healthcare and reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
He said 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 about 2.9 million pregnant women and families expected to benefit.
MAMII is currently being implemented in several states, focusing on emergency obstetric and newborn care, transportation, referral systems and stronger primary healthcare services.
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, described Nigeria’s maternal mortality burden as “one of the most sobering realities of our nation”.
Figures presented at the event showed that Nigeria accounts for nearly 39 per cent of global maternal deaths.
Salako said the government was intensifying efforts to expand antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, emergency medical services and timely referrals, especially for women facing poverty, distance and other barriers to healthcare.
“Help continues to come and help is very, very close, and it is coming faster.”
WHO calls for stronger primary healthcare
World Health Organisation Country Representative, Pavel Ursu, said the success of the intervention should ultimately be measured by whether it improves access to quality healthcare and saves lives.
“Primary health care is so important. It brings life-saving care closer to families, builds trust, and it connects communities to wider health systems.”
Ursu urged authorities to use data more effectively to identify gaps and direct resources to communities with the greatest needs.
He also called for greater domestic financing and ownership of maternal health programmes, stressing that sustainable progress must be driven by Nigerian institutions.
“Lasting progress must be rooted in Nigerian institutions, budgets, and accountability.”
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 over 93,000 women had benefited from free life-saving surgical procedures, contributing to a reported 22 per cent reduction in maternal mortality in facilities providing the services.
More than 250 health facilities across Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano and Katsina states are implementing MAMII.
The government said more than 42,000 women and 1,700 newborns had benefited directly from emergency obstetric and newborn care under the programme.
