The federal ministry of health and Enugu State government have partnered to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths through the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Innovation Initiative (MAMII) project.

Abraham Ahmadu, national lead of the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) team, disclosed this during a stakeholder workshop on Monday in Enugu aimed at co-creating a roadmap for implementation.

The programme, titled Enugu State Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) Co-Creation Workshop, brought together key actors from the health sector, civil society, and development partners.

Mr Ahmadu explained that the project would prioritise three local government areas in Enugu State, Oji River, Igboeze North, and Isi-Uzo, which recorded the highest maternal and neonatal mortality figures.

He said the five-day workshop would produce an implementation roadmap to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths in high-burden areas through targeted, community-driven, and facility-based interventions.

“The initiative seeks to eliminate barriers to maternal healthcare by ensuring pregnant women receive timely, quality care and skilled attendance at health facilities across the three pilot council areas.”

Mr Ahmadu stressed that MAMII was a leading project of the coordinating minister of health, Muhammad Pate, to drastically reduce maternal and neonatal mortality nationwide.

According to him, the programme is currently being implemented in 33 states and 172 local government areas across Nigeria to address systemic health care delivery challenges.

He urged stakeholders to collaborate, pool their resources, and commit to ensuring that no pregnant woman or newborn would die from preventable causes in Enugu State.

Declaring the workshop open, Enugu State health commissioner,  George Ugwu, said the initiative targeted a 30 per cent maternal mortality reduction and 60 per cent increase in health facility usage by 2030.

Represented by Uche Okenwa, director of public health, Mr Ugwu said the workshop convened ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), the private sector, religious leaders, and community actors for joint intervention design.

He noted that participants would co-create customised interventions and activation plans based on data insights and community needs to ensure effective implementation of MAMII in Enugu State.

The commissioner hailed Gov. Peter Mbah’s commitment to maternal and child health through the construction of 260 type-3 health centres and the recruitment of health personnel across all political wards.

Ani-Osheku Ifeyinwa, executive secretary of Enugu State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, affirmed the agency’s full support and promised technical assistance for the successful implementation of MAMII.

Also speaking, WHO state coordinator, Adaeze Ugwu, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting the successful and sustainable execution of MAMII interventions across Enugu State.

(NAN)