The Akwa Ibom State Government says it is putting deliberate measures in place to drastically reduce cases of Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in the state.
Commissioner for Health in the State, Dr. Ekem Emmanuel John, stated this while declaring open a 5-day training workshop for frontline health workers in Akwa Ibom State on the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, MAMII, of the federal government.
The workshop, organised by the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare through the Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) is to design and co-create targeted interventions to drastically reduce cases of maternal and neo-natal mortality in the State, with special focus on the identified high-burden Local Government Areas of Ikot Abasi, Uruan and Uyo.
The Commissioner for Health listed some of the interventions of the government aimed at reducing Maternal and Neonatal Mortality to include provision of modern health facilities, provision of emergency ambulance services and training of skilled birth attendants and health care providers.
“So those are steps that the government is already taking to stem the tide of Maternal and Neonatal Mortality. Every woman has a right to be attended to by a skilled birth attendant”
Dr John said the State government was set to partner the federal government on all health initiatives to improve the wellbeing of the people.
The National Coordinator of the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiatives (MAMII), Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, emphasized on the importance of a collaborative and sector-wide approach involving federal, state, and local governments, as well as development partners and community stakeholders, in curbing maternal and neonatal mortality in Nigeria.
Dr. Adeyanju said MAMII aims to reduce maternal mortality by 30 percent within two years through coordinated interventions, digital monitoring platforms, and health worker incentives in the identified 172 high-burden local government areas across Nigeria.
“Akwa Ibom happen to have three of these LGAs. So we are here to understand the causes of Maternal and Neonatal Mortality and co-create with the state a clear implementation plan to crash Maternal and Neonatal Mortality. In the next three years, we hope to crash these needless deaths so that pregnancy won’t be a death sentence and our children can live beyond the age of five”
The MAMII national coordinator said the project, introduced under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Coordinating Minister of Health Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, represents a unified national effort in tackling maternal and neonatal mortality in the country.
He added that the launch of the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiatives (MAMII) during the Joint Annual Review (JAR) in November 2024 demonstrated the priority of the Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) to reduce maternal mortality, targeting 172 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across 33 Nigerian states. Although these LGAs make up only 20% of the total number of LGAs in Nigeria, they account for up to 55% of Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate (MMR). This disparity highlights the urgent need for maternal health intervention in these areas.
Participants at the workshop included representatives from federal and state health agencies, the National Health Insurance Authority, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, UNICEF, traditional and community leaders, as well as the mediare.
