Key Points
- The Federal Government says private sector partners have committed $65 million in cash and in-kind support to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.
- The commitment was announced during the inauguration of the MAMII Private Sector Compact platform in Abuja.
- Five national policies and frameworks were inaugurated to strengthen maternal and reproductive healthcare delivery.
- The MTN Foundation and Gates Foundation are supporting a $25 million initiative targeting 500 primary healthcare centres and 5,000 frontline health workers.
- Abia and Kwara states reported improvements in access to emergency maternal healthcare through the initiative.
Main Story
The Federal Government says private sector partners have committed $65 million in cash and in-kind contributions to support efforts to reduce maternal and newborn deaths across Nigeria.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) Private Sector Compact platform.
The government-led initiative, supported by the World Economic Forum, Gates Foundation, MTN Foundation and MSD for Mothers, is designed to mobilise private sector funding, expertise, technology and other resources to strengthen maternal and newborn healthcare.
The inauguration took place during the second day of the 2026 Joint Annual Review (JAR), themed “Together to Higher Grounds: Make the Data Count.”
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the newly inaugurated web-based platform will monitor implementation coverage, partner contributions and outstanding healthcare gaps across participating states and local government areas.
Pate also inaugurated five national policies and frameworks aimed at improving maternal and neonatal healthcare delivery.
They include the Obstetric Fistula Framework, National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy, National Post-Partum Family Planning and Self-Care Guideline, Permanent Method of Family Planning, and National Task Shifting and Task Sharing Policy.
The minister said the documents would strengthen healthcare workers’ capacity to provide quality services while complementing the financial and technical resources being mobilised through MAMII.
He described the private sector commitments as evidence of growing support for the government’s efforts to prevent avoidable maternal and newborn deaths.
“We thank you on behalf of the 230 million Nigerians, and especially the women and children, because this is an effort that has already begun translating intent into tangible actions,” he said.
The Issues
Maternal and newborn deaths remain major public health concerns in Nigeria, with gaps in emergency obstetric care, healthcare infrastructure, skilled personnel and access to essential medical supplies contributing to poor outcomes.
Many pregnant women, particularly those in underserved communities, face financial and geographical barriers when seeking antenatal care, emergency transportation and skilled delivery services.
The MAMII initiative seeks to address these challenges by strengthening the entire maternal healthcare chain, from identifying high-risk pregnancies in communities to ensuring that health facilities can provide timely emergency interventions.
Dr Dayo Adeyanju, MAMII Coordinator at the Sector-Wide Approach Coordination Office, said the programme focused on community identification and referrals, physical and financial access, facility readiness and data governance.
He identified shortages of healthcare workers, weak supply chains, inadequate emergency transportation, service quality and limited digital systems as areas requiring additional investment.
Adeyanju explained that the private sector technical working group had held more than 30 meetings to match partners’ interests with identified needs and avoid duplication of interventions.
He added that investment cases were being developed to demonstrate the economic benefits of reducing maternal deaths and encourage states to increase domestic funding.
What’s Being Said
The Country Director of the Gates Foundation, Uche Amaonwu, said the initiative provided a nationally led approach to ensuring that proven maternal and newborn health interventions reached women consistently and at scale.
He noted that businesses could contribute more than money through technology, innovation, supply chains and other operational capabilities.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of MTN Nigeria Foundation, Odunayo Sanya, disclosed that the foundation was collaborating with the Gates Foundation on the $25 million Nigerian Maternal Health Multiplier initiative.
Represented by Pamela Emodi, Sanya said the programme was designed to reach 500 primary healthcare centres, 5,000 frontline health workers and 500 women.
MSD for Mothers also reaffirmed its commitment to maternal healthcare in Nigeria, noting that it had worked with local stakeholders since 2015.
Its representative, Iyadunni Olabode, said the organisation had supported research and interventions targeting postpartum haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and improved integrated maternal care.
Seven additional organisations, including DP World, Bayer, UNICEF, dsm-firmenich, Nestlé Nutrition Institute, Roche and Ferring Pharmaceuticals, also pledged support through funding, technical expertise, essential commodities and supply chain improvements.
Their commitments included broader maternal and neonatal health investments, with more than N10 billion secured for neonatal facilities in about four northern states.
What’s Next
Early reports from participating states indicate how the initiative is translating into healthcare interventions.
In Kwara, Commissioner for Health Dr Amina El-Imam said MAMII had helped a woman whose belongings were destroyed in a fire access emergency caesarean delivery.
She said the intervention demonstrated the programme’s role in protecting vulnerable families from financial hardship while improving access to emergency services.
However, she identified limited geographical coverage and financial constraints as continuing challenges.
In Abia, Commissioner for Health Prof. Enoch Uche disclosed that three local government areas covered by MAMII previously accounted for more than 30 per cent of maternal deaths in the state.
He said 52 women identified with high-risk pregnancies had received care through the programme, with none dying following the interventions.
The state has also integrated MAMII into its healthcare reform agenda and introduced Cytrak, a digital tracking tool for identifying and monitoring high-risk pregnancies.
Uche attributed improved community acceptance partly to engagement with traditional rulers and women’s groups.
Bottom Line
The $65 million private sector commitment represents an important opportunity to strengthen Nigeria’s maternal and newborn healthcare system.
However, financial pledges alone will not reduce preventable deaths. The real test will be whether the resources reach underserved communities, equip healthcare facilities, support frontline workers and ensure that pregnant women receive timely emergency care.
The experiences reported in Abia and Kwara offer examples of the initiative’s potential. Sustaining these interventions and expanding their coverage will determine how much impact MAMII can achieve nationwide.
