The National Health Insurance Authority has launched the neonatal component of its Comprehensive Emergency Obstetrics and Neonatal Care programme in Kano. NHIA said this in a statement on Monday.

It said the move, aimed at reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths, was unveiled at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the NHIA and the hospital.

The NHIA director-general, Kelechi Ohiri, stated that the neonatal intervention is based on the success of the maternal component of CEmONC, which is already operational in over 200 facilities nationwide.

Mr Ohiri was represented by Sikiru Salaudeen, director of the informal sector department, NHIA.

He said that more than 14,000 women had benefitted from the maternal services since inception, with Kano accounting for about 40 per cent of the beneficiaries.

“The neonatal component will focus on birth asphyxia, neonatal sepsis, neonatal jaundice and acute surgical emergencies. To ensure accountability, independent external verifiers have been engaged to monitor the programme,” he said.

He said that while Lagos piloted the neonatal services in four facilities representing the South-West, Kano would also host four hospitals for the pilot scheme.

He listed the facilities as AKTH, Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Mohammed Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital, and Khalifah Shiek Isiyaka Rabiu Paediatric Hospital.

Abdurahman Suwaid, chairman of the medical advisory committee at AKTH, who represented the chief medical director, commended NHIA for expanding its scope of services.

Mr Suwaid disclosed that AKTH had treated 972 women under the maternal arm of the CEmONC initiative, describing the hospital as the largest holder of NHIA beneficiaries nationwide.

Health commissioner Abubakar Labaran Yusuf witnessed the MoU signing and pledged the government’s continued support for maternal and child health programmes.

The CEmONC programme, introduced by NHIA, is designed to provide timely, life-saving interventions for women and newborns facing complications during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period.

It covers emergency obstetric care such as caesarean sections, management of eclampsia, severe bleeding, obstructed labour, and treatment of infections.

Meanwhile, experts said that the country continued to face high maternal and neonatal mortality rates, with an estimated 82,000 maternal deaths and 262,000 neonatal deaths recorded annually, according to UN data.

The CEmONC initiative is therefore seen as a critical intervention to bridge service delivery gaps, particularly for vulnerable populations who can not afford specialised care.

By adding the neonatal arm, NHIA aims to provide a continuum of care, from safe pregnancy and delivery to the survival and well-being of the newborn.

(NAN)