The Federal Government has partnered with the Lagos State Government to implement the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) in the state.
The collaboration, led by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, aims to promote community-level engagement and strengthen maternal and newborn care services at the Primary Health Care (PHC) level.
Speaking during the community activation exercise at the Ogba Primary Health Centre in Lagos, the Team Lead of the initiative, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, described Nigeria’s contribution to global maternal deaths as alarming.
He emphasised that “the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to improving maternal and child health outcomes, ensuring that every pregnancy and every child in Nigeria is safe.”
He said the community activation programme would demonstrate the practical rollout of the model, which links every pregnant woman to a dedicated care team for continuous, life-saving support through pregnancy, delivery, and the postnatal period.
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Adeyanju noted that Lagos is being onboarded as part of the States currently implementing MAMII, with plans for free emergency transport, revitalized PHCs, and designated hospitals offering life-saving Caesarean sections for women in need.
“Mamii initiative is the sector-wide approach to crashing maternal mortality in Nigeria. Our indices in the newborn and maternal mortality is very high and it is said Nigeria contribute 30 percent of the global maternal death and this is what is totally unacceptable to the President of Nigeria Bola Tinubu and launching this Mammi initiative as a country’s strategy to crashing this figure and ensure that every pregnancy is safe and all the children under five are able to live beyond the age of five.
“We have also identified 172 high-burden LGAs in 33 states which have contributed to over half of maternal deaths, prompting targeted interventions focused on facility readiness, transportation, and community engagement.” he said.
He maintained that the government is targeting one functional PHC per ward and has revitalized over 3,000 PHCs with about 2,000 PHCs currently in progress.
Dr. Adeyanju also mentioned that a task force has been inaugurated across all the federation to ensure proper monitoring of the process.
Intentional Awareness
In her remarks, Director of Health Care Planning, Research and Statistics, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olajumoke Oyenuga, said the community activation programme was a fall out of the co-creation workshop held in Lagos.
Stakeholders at the event identified the causes of maternal deaths and a detailed action plan was developed, which defined responsibilities for the State, partners, and the Nigerian Government.
“We are deliberate and intentional about ensuring no woman dies giving life. Every stakeholder has a role to play,” she added
In her welcome address, Medical Officer of Health, Ikeja Local Government, Dr. Tawak Oluwakemi Folashade, noted that MAMII activation represents hope for safer motherhood and stronger communities.
“Ikeja is fully committed to the success of the initiative and the council has the political will and leadership backing to ensure the MAMII programme achieves its objectives. We are determined to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths to the barest minimum. In Lagos, no woman should deliver at home or with untrained attendants, as both PHCs and General Hospitals in Lagos offer safe, supervised, and quality care without cost,” she added.
The Vice Chairman, Ikeja Local Government, Abisola Omisore, who commended the Lagos State for copious investment in free maternal care urged expectant mothers to utilise available health facilities provided by both the Nigerian and State Government and shun unsafe delivery practices.
Other stakeholders at the programme lauded the collaboration by both the federal and state government towards making maternal and newborn deaths a thing of the past in Lagos State and Nigeria.