172 LGAs Account For 55% Of Nigeria’s Maternal Deaths — FG

The federal government has disclosed that 172 local government areas (LGAs), representing only about 20 per cent of the country’s LGAs, account for 55 per cent of Nigeria’s maternal deaths.

Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja at the national flag-off of incentives to increase maternal and newborn care services utilisation under the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII).

The minister said the 172 LGAs across 33 states were deliberately targeted under MAMII because of their disproportionate burden of maternal deaths.

He said the initiative, launched in November 2024, aims to reduce maternal mortality by 30 per cent and neonatal mortality by 20 per cent in the targeted areas by 2028, while reaching 2.9 million pregnant women with free, timely and comprehensive care.

Salako said more than 32,000 women and 1,700 newborns had so far benefited directly from emergency obstetric and neonatal care under the programme.

He added that nearly 79,000 beneficiaries, about 60 per cent of them pregnant women, had been transported to healthcare facilities through the National Emergency Medical Treatment and Ambulance System (NEMSAS).

The minister further disclosed that fourth-visit antenatal care attendance in MAMII-implementing LGAs increased by 20 per cent in one quarter.

He said the latest intervention was designed to reinforce behaviours that could save lives, including early antenatal registration, facility delivery and postnatal follow-up.