Coordinating minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has reiterated the federal government‘s commitment to reduce maternal mortality and newborn child deaths by providing adequate funding to eight thousand, eight hundred,(8800) health facilities across the country.
The Minister stated this at a press briefing to commemorate the 2024 Safe Motherhood Day, with the theme „Investing in Maternal Health for a Sustainable Future“ held in Abuja.
He stated that safe motherhood can be achieved when a pregnant woman receives all pillars of care during and after pregnancy, such as antenatal care, skilled and facility-based delivery, quality services as well as postnatal care, family planning, postpartum family planning and post-abortion family planning.
„We have to ensure that all women in Nigeria have access to quality maternal care, irrespective of where you come from, whether they‘re from rural areas or not, whether they‘re educated or not so that we don‘t leave any woman behind“ he stressed.
The Minister noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has consistently prioritised Nigerian citizens in his administration‘s Renewed Hope Agenda, adding that health is a key part of the Agenda, recalling that he unveiled the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative in December with a compact between the 36 State Governors, development partners and the Federal Government to ensure improved population health outcomes in a sector-wide manner.
He said that the government aims to reach at least 7 million pregnant women through those services over time per year and at least six million newborn births on an annual basis.
„That is an aspiration, we are not there yet but it is what we should be aiming for, so that no woman is left behind when it comes to access to quality maternal care, access to skilled birth attendants, facility birth delivery and Non-communicable diseases screening, like hypertension, diabetes in pregnancy and family planning and to ensure affordability to the vulnerable group fund as the NHIA provides cover to reduce access to care for women“, said Pate.
