Maternal Health Inequality Persists In Nigeria, As FCT Women Face Rising Risks

Nigeria’s maternal health landscape remains deeply unequal, with women in underserved communities across the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, facing persistent risks. Despite sustained global and national commitments to improving maternal survival, many women still struggle to access essential care. 

The use of key services like antenatal care, skilled birth attendance and postnatal care remain worryingly low. Only about 52 percent of women complete at least four antenatal visits, 38 percent deliver in health facilities and roughly 37 percent receive postnatal care. This gap continues to drive preventable complications and deaths during pregnancy and childbirth.

In the Federal Capital Territory, the foundation of safer motherhood is being rebuilt from the ground up. Primary healthcare centres, often the closest and most accessible facilities for women, are taking centre stage in efforts to reduce maternal deaths and improve outcomes for mothers and newborns. With a growing emphasis on skilled birth attendance, community-level interventions and improved service delivery, the FCT Administration is repositioning primary care as the backbone of its maternal health strategy.

The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Women’s Health, Adanna Steinacker, on Wednesday, inaugurated the RenewHER “Save Our Mothers” campaign in Abuja, as part of efforts to strengthen maternal health advocacy and improve outcomes nationwide.

The initiative is designed to address persistent gaps in maternal healthcare by promoting awareness, building trust and increasing the utilisation of available services, particularly at the community level.

As part of the rollout, Steinacker also inaugurated state ambassadors who will drive advocacy efforts across the 36 states and the FCT, serving as grassroots mobilisers for maternal health education and service uptake.

Speaking at the event, she noted that Nigeria is not short of maternal health programmes, but continues to face challenges in ensuring that women access and use these services when needed.

“Maternal deaths often occur at the point where services exist, but women are unable to access or use them. That is where we must now concentrate our national efforts,” she said.

Steinacker explained that the “Save Our Mothers” campaign functions as the advocacy and health literacy arm of the RenewHER Presidential Women’s Health Transformation Initiative, aimed at bridging the gap between healthcare services and intended beneficiaries.

According to her, the programme will be implemented through the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative in collaboration with the Department of Family Health under the Federal Ministry of Health, to strengthen safe motherhood interventions.

She emphasised that the newly inaugurated ambassadors would operate within a structured and accountable system to drive awareness and improve service utilisation across communities.

“This is not symbolic; it is a delivery framework. This is the moment to move from goodwill to concrete partnerships,” she stated.

Reiterating the core goal of the initiative, Steinacker said the campaign is focused on ensuring that no woman dies while giving life, stressing the need for coordinated action to translate existing policies and programmes into measurable impact across the country.

Speaking, the Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, FCT Administration, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, said the initiative aligned with ongoing efforts to strengthen primary healthcare delivery.

She noted that the administration of President Tinubu is prioritising improved access to skilled birth attendants and enhancing community-level awareness.

Fasawe said the campaign reflects a people-centred approach that combines advocacy, service delivery and accountability. 

She welcomed the initiative, noting its alignment with ongoing efforts to strengthen primary healthcare systems and expand access to skilled birth attendance across communities in the FCT.

According to her, the campaign is not seen as a parallel programme, but as a complementary platform that reinforces existing sub-national interventions targeted at improving maternal and newborn health outcomes.

She emphasised that sustained progress in maternal health depends on informed women, mobilised communities and responsive healthcare systems, noting that such a combination can significantly reduce preventable deaths.

She expressed readiness to deepen collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Women’s Health, OSSAP-WH, to ensure that national-level advocacy translates into measurable, life-saving impact at the grassroots.

She reiterated that with stronger partnerships and coordinated action, Nigeria can build a health system that delivers equitable, quality care for every woman and child, regardless of location.

Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health and Nutrition, Uju Anwukah, said the RenewHER Save Our Mothers initiative aligns strongly with the federal government’s ongoing efforts to improve nutrition outcomes and maternal health indicators across the 774 local government areas. 

She described the campaign as a timely and strategic intervention that complements existing programmes aimed at reducing malnutrition, improving maternal survival and strengthening primary healthcare systems. 

According to her, the initiative provides an added layer of advocacy and community engagement that is essential for driving behavioural change and ensuring that health interventions translate into real impact at the grassroots level.

Anwukah noted that the current administration remains firmly committed to prioritising underserved populations, particularly women and children living in rural and hard-to-reach communities. 

She pointed out that despite several policies and programmes in place, inequality in access to healthcare and nutrition services persist, leaving many vulnerable groups at risk. 

She stressed that reaching these populations requires deliberate and targeted efforts that go beyond policy formulation to actual service delivery within communities. 

The initiative, she said, is designed to bridge this gap by promoting awareness, improving access to services and empowering women with the knowledge needed to make informed health decisions for themselves and their families.

She explained that one of the key strengths of the initiative lies in its ability to foster coordinated action among critical stakeholders, including government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations and the private sector. 

Anwukah emphasised that addressing maternal and child health challenges requires a multi-sectoral approach, where resources, expertise and efforts are aligned toward a common goal, adding that the campaign would help strengthen financing mechanisms by attracting broader support and investments into maternal and nutrition programmes, while also improving data systems to support evidence-based planning and decision-making. 

She said, a reliable data remains essential for tracking progress, identifying gaps and ensuring accountability in the delivery of health interventions.

In addition, Anwukah highlighted the importance of sustained advocacy in keeping maternal and child health at the forefront of national development priorities. 

She said initiatives like RenewHER play a crucial role in maintaining visibility for these issues, ensuring that they continue to receive the attention and funding required to drive long-term change.

She explained that by amplifying community voices and engaging stakeholders at all levels, the campaign would contribute to building a stronger national movement for maternal and child health, ultimately supporting the country’s broader development goals.

She also underscored that maternal well-being goes beyond physical health, calling for a more holistic approach that includes mental and emotional support for women. 

Anwukah explained that pregnancy, childbirth and caregiving can place significant psychological and emotional demands on women, particularly in settings where support systems are weak or non-existent, stressing the need to integrate mental health services into maternal care, ensuring that women receive not only medical attention, but also the emotional support necessary for their overall well-being. 

According to her, addressing mental health challenges is essential in improving outcomes for both mothers and their children.

She emphasised that when women are healthy, supported and empowered, the benefits extend beyond individual households to entire communities and the nation at large. 

She noted that women play a central role in nurturing families, shaping future generations and contributing to economic and social development. Therefore, investing in their health physically, mentally and emotionally is not just a moral imperative, but a strategic necessity for sustainable development. 

Anwukah called on stakeholders to sustain the momentum around the initiative and ensure that no woman or child is left behind in accessing quality healthcare and nutrition services across Nigeria.

Also, the Director of the Reproductive Health Division at the Department of Family Health, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Samuel Oyeniyi, commended the RenewHER Save Our Mothers campaign, describing it as a significant step toward improving maternal health outcomes in Nigeria. 

He noted that initiatives focused on awareness, community engagement and service delivery are critical to reducing preventable maternal deaths across the country.

Oyeniyi emphasised that while Nigeria has recorded some progress in maternal health, persistent gaps in access to quality care, especially at the community level, continue to pose serious challenges. 

He said the campaign has the potential to bridge these gaps by strengthening advocacy, promoting health education and encouraging timely utilisation of maternal health services.

He called on key stakeholders, including government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations and the private sector, to rally behind the initiative, saying a coordinated and well-supported approach is necessary to ensure that the campaign achieves its intended impact and reaches women in both urban and hard-to-reach communities.

The director stressed the importance of sustained collaboration and investment in maternal health programmes, adding that expanding the campaign nationwide would help drive long-term improvements in maternal and child health indicators. 

He urged stakeholders to take ownership of the initiative and work collectively to ensure that no woman is left behind in accessing life-saving care.