The Federal Capital Territory Administration has launched a new intervention to tackle preventable maternal and newborn deaths, following the identification of delays in accessing healthcare, socio-cultural practices, transportation difficulties and financial hardship as major contributors to maternal mortality in the territory.
The administration activated the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, MAMII, on Friday at the Primary Healthcare Centre, Garki Area 2, Abuja, and inaugurated a task force to coordinate its implementation across the FCT.
MAMII, a Federal Government flagship programme, seeks to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths by strengthening community participation and improving access to quality maternal and newborn healthcare.
Speaking at the activation, the National Coordinator of MAMII, Dr Dayo Adeyanju, said a four-day engagement with communities and health stakeholders across the FCT had provided clearer insight into the circumstances surrounding maternal deaths.
Adeyanju said, “The data we reviewed showed, yes, women are dying as a result of the delays. But when we went there, it was obvious to us some of the critical delays which we have highlighted, some of the illnesses present in the room.”
He said some socio-cultural practices continued to discourage women from seeking prompt medical attention, adding that antenatal attendance did not always translate into facility-based delivery.
According to him, the assessment uncovered instances where women who had regularly attended antenatal appointments later chose to give birth with traditional birth attendants, with some eventually losing their lives.
“We found we need to also improve the quality of care,” Adeyanju said, identifying family planning, transportation and financial protection as other areas requiring urgent attention.
He said the FCT became the 34th state-level jurisdiction to adopt the MAMII approach, after the programme was implemented in 33 states within the past one and a half years.
Adeyanju explained that the Federal Government and its partners had developed intervention plans tailored to the specific factors driving maternal and newborn deaths in each state.
He added that MAMII interventions had contributed to a 17 per cent reduction in maternal mortality in areas where the programme had been implemented in less than two years.
The national coordinator encouraged pregnant women to enrol in health insurance schemes to ease the financial burden of seeking care. He said eligible beneficiaries could receive emergency obstetric services, including Caesarean sections, under applicable arrangements.
He also disclosed that emergency transport measures were being introduced in some communities to help pregnant women reach health facilities quickly when complications occur.
Adeyanju urged expectant mothers to seek care from skilled health professionals and deliver in recognised health facilities, warning that delays in obtaining appropriate treatment could turn preventable complications into fatal outcomes.
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The FCT Mandate Secretary, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, said the newly constituted task force would be responsible for driving accountability among pregnant women, communities, healthcare facilities and government stakeholders.
She said the body would operate indefinitely, noting that its work would remain necessary for as long as women continued to give birth in the territory.
Fasawe said, “As long as women are giving birth in the FCT, as long as we’re here, your role will continue. It is not time-bound.”
She tasked members with ensuring that government officials, healthcare providers and the national MAMII coordinator remained accountable for delivering the interventions agreed upon under the programme.
“You can hold the government accountable and hold even the national coordinator accountable. Everything that is in this book, your role is to ensure that we do,” she said.
Fasawe further instructed the task force members to review the MAMII operational document and draw up a detailed work plan to guide implementation.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the FCT Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr Dan Gadanma, said the territory’s relatively lower maternal mortality burden compared with some other parts of Nigeria did not make the intervention unnecessary.
He said the FCT Administration regarded every maternal death as unacceptable and had consequently embraced MAMII.
Gadanma said the four-day workshop and community-level consultations allowed stakeholders to develop interventions informed by the experiences and concerns of women and other residents.
“Based on those interactions, we have developed together, collectively, the interventions that are going to be implemented in the next months and years to come to ensure that maternal mortality becomes a thing of the past,” he said.
A beneficiary of the intervention, Augustina Kalu, recounted how MAMII support helped her family deal with medical expenses after she developed complications following childbirth.
Kalu said she had been uncertain about how to settle her hospital bills until her husband informed her that the intervention would cover the expenses.
“I was very excited when my husband came to the hospital and told me that they had taken charge of our bills because the sickness came unknowingly,” she said.
She disclosed that she was treated with, among other interventions, oxygen at the National Hospital before eventually being discharged.
Kalu thanked the government and its partners for supporting the programme and expressed hope that the intervention would continue to provide assistance to women confronted with similar health challenges.