172 LGAs account for 55% of maternal deaths in Nigeria – FG

Zainab Abioye

The Federal Government has revealed that just 172 local government areas in 33 states are responsible for 55% of recorded maternal deaths in Nigeria, despite only accounting for about a fifth of the country’s 774 local government areas..

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, disclosed this in Abuja during the national presentation of incentives aimed at increasing the utilization of maternal and neonatal healthcare services under the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII).

Salako said the concentration of maternal deaths in the 172 LGAs informed the Federal Government’s decision to specifically target them with interventions designed to improve access to timely and quality maternal and newborn care.

According to him, MAMII, launched in November 2024, aims to reduce maternal mortality by 30% and neonatal mortality by 20% by 2028 in selected LGAs.

The initiative, he added, is expected to provide free, timely and comprehensive maternal healthcare to approximately 2.9 million pregnant women in the target communities.

The minister said the government’s strategy was informed by the need to go beyond blanket interventions and focus resources on communities where women and newborns are at greatest risk.

It revealed that more than 32,000 women and 1,700 newborns have already directly benefited from emergency obstetric and neonatal care through the programme.

Salako further revealed that nearly 79,000 beneficiaries, about 60% of whom were pregnant women, had been transported to health facilities through the national emergency medical care and ambulance system.

He said the interventions are already producing measurable improvements in maternal healthcare utilization, highlighting that attendance at the fourth antenatal care visit increased by 20% in one quarter in LGAs implementing MAMII.

According to him, the latest intervention is designed to strengthen health behaviors and practices that can prevent avoidable maternal and neonatal deaths.

These include early registration for antenatal care, delivery in health facilities and adequate postnatal follow-up.

Salako stressed the importance of ensuring that pregnant women not only have access to health facilities but also receive timely and adequate care in case of complications.

The federal government’s disclosure highlights the uneven distribution of the maternal health burden in Nigeria, with a relatively small percentage of local government areas accounting for more than half of maternal deaths nationwide.

The government is therefore expected to support targeted interventions in communities identified as high burden, while strengthening emergency referral systems, antenatal services, skilled birth attendance and postnatal care.

The success of the initiative, however, will ultimately depend on sustained funding, functioning primary healthcare facilities, availability of trained healthcare workers, essential medicines and equipment, as well as reliable transportation for women experiencing obstetric emergencies.

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