Kano maternal mortality drops by nearly 50% in 3 years — Commissioner

The Kano State Government has set an ambitious target of achieving zero maternal mortality within the next three years following a significant reduction in maternal deaths across the state, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Yusuf, has said.

Mr Yusuf disclosed that maternal mortality in the state had dropped from 1,026 to 570 deaths in about one and a half years, representing a reduction of nearly 50 per cent.

He made the disclosure on Tuesday at the Accelerating the Expanded Adoption of RMNCH Innovations and Health Reforms, AEARI, Learning and Dissemination Meeting held in Kano.

The commissioner attributed the improvement to sustained investments by the state government, strategic partnerships with development organisations, and strengthened healthcare delivery, particularly in maternal and newborn care.

According to him, the government prioritised the training and retraining of frontline healthcare workers to improve the management of antenatal, labour and postnatal care, while also upgrading health facilities to ensure they are adequately equipped to provide quality maternal health services.

He said the government also intensified community sensitisation campaigns to encourage women to embrace hospital delivery instead of traditional home births.

“We made sure our health facilities became service-ready for pregnant women and those in labour. We also invested heavily in training frontline health workers on quality antenatal, delivery and postnatal care,” Mr Yusuf said.

“Another major achievement has been changing public perception. Many women previously considered delivering in hospitals as a sign of weakness, but we are changing that narrative by creating awareness that hospital delivery is the safest option for both mother and child.”

The commissioner acknowledged the contributions of development partners, saying several innovations introduced under the intervention had been adopted by the state government to improve maternal healthcare.

He cited the deployment of calibrated drips and other evidence-based medical innovations in public hospitals as some of the measures that had contributed to the decline in maternal deaths.

Mr Yusuf expressed optimism that the state’s goal of eliminating maternal mortality within three years was achievable, considering the remarkable progress already recorded.

He commended development partners and other stakeholders for supporting the initiative and appealed for an extension of the programme to consolidate the gains already made.

The AEARI Programme, a maternal and newborn health intervention implemented in Kano by West and Central Africa Health Options Ltd/GTE, WCAHealth, was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through TAConnect from March 2024 to June 2026.

The programme focused on strengthening the capacity of local health actors, frontline workers and other stakeholders to deliver quality, evidence-based reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, RMNCH, services, particularly at primary healthcare facilities.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of WCAHealth, Dr. Ufouoma Omo-Obi, described Nigeria as bearing the world’s highest burden of maternal deaths.

He said Nigeria accounts for more than 27 per cent of maternal deaths globally, with Kano contributing one of the largest shares because of its population size.

According to him, the intervention deliberately targeted about 18 high-burden local government areas identified by the Federal Government as recording some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country.

“Nigeria remains the global headquarters of maternal mortality. More than 27 per cent of women who die from pregnancy-related causes worldwide are Nigerians, and Kano contributes a significant proportion of that figure,” he said.

He explained that the programme focused on strengthening primary healthcare centres in the identified high-burden councils by introducing proven maternal health innovations and working closely with health workers, community leaders and government agencies.

According to Omo-Obi, the intervention recorded remarkable success, with about 14,000 babies delivered in the supported health facilities without a single maternal death.

He expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the project, describing it as evidence that evidence-based interventions and strong collaboration between government and development partners can significantly reduce maternal mortality.

He thanked the Kano State Government, healthcare workers and other stakeholders for their commitment to the programme, saying the achievements recorded provide a strong foundation for sustaining improvements in maternal and newborn healthcare across the state.