Protocols
I am delighted to officially unveil this year’s commemoration of the 2024 National Safe Motherhood Day. The National Safe Motherhood Day is an annual event marked on the 11th of April to create awareness and generate public dialogue on the best strategies and interventions that promote maternal and new-born health and survival within an integrated continuum of care. In recognition of the importance of this day, the country has put in place, a week-long schedule of activities.
2. The focus of this year’s commemoration is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortalities. Safe Motherhood is achieved when every pregnant woman receives all the pillars of Safe Motherhood including full antenatal, skilled, and safe facility-based delivery, respectful maternity care, post-natal care integrated with family planning especially postpartum and post-abortion family planning. This must be entrenched in the fundamental principle of equity and made available at all levels of health care in every community.
3. This year’s theme: “Investing in maternal health for a sustainable future,” with the slogan “Mother Lives, Child Thrives” is very apt as it calls on all stakeholders to work together to ensure that:
| i. ii. | No woman dies from pregnancy and childbirth related conditions.Every newborn is protected and assisted to thrive into healthy childhood. |
3. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, as we gather to commemorate Safe Motherhood Day, we are reminded of the profound importance of ensuring the well-being of mothers and newborns. It is a day that calls upon us to reflect on the strides we have made, identify the gaps, and challenges that lie ahead, in our collective journey towards safer pregnancies and childbirths. Despite the progress made, it's disheartening to know that many lives are still lost to preventable complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
4. One of the leading causes of maternal mortality is postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), accounting for a significant proportion of maternal deaths worldwide. In the same light, mortality rate among newborns, often attributed to birth asphyxia and complications related to premature births are equally alarming. These statistics are not just numbers, but represent real mothers, wives, sisters, aunts, nieces, children, and babies.
5. Maternal health is a fundamental human rights issue hence, every woman deserves access to quality healthcare before, during, and after childbirth, regardless of her socioeconomic status or geographic location. It is incumbent upon us, as leaders and advocates, to uphold this basic right and work tirelessly towards its realization.
6.. Our Strategic blueprint, to “save lives, reduce both physical and financial pain and produce health for all Nigerians” is anchored around Nigeria’s progress towards Universal Health Coverage. The Sector Wide Approach (SWAp), a component of our strategic blueprint through the Decentralized Facility Financing (DFF) package targets about 7 million pregnancies and over 6 million new births annually.
7. In addition, there is incentive-based Quality of Care Program that weighs more heavily on process/content of care; Revamped Community-Based Health Services through strengthened Frontline Health Workers (training of 120, 000 workers has commenced); Consideration for Conditional Cash Transfers for pregnant women as demand side financing option and strong community involvement, citizens engagement and social accountability mechanism, etc.
8. In view of leadership’s prioritization of improving quality of care and health outcomes of pregnant women, I cannot overemphasize the importance of innovative solutions such as the calibrated drape. This simple yet effective tool has proven to significantly reduce postpartum hemorrhage by accurately measuring blood loss during childbirth thus leading to early detection. By incorporating the calibrated drape into maternal health protocols, we can better monitor and manage hemorrhages, ultimately saving the lives of mothers and their children. Our forecast and quantification of essential maternal health commodities including calibrated drapes will enhance the procurement, tracking and accessibility by incorporating them into the Logistics Management Information System. 9. Recognizing the life-saving potential of one calibrated drape for one pregnant women, this administration, in line with its agenda, will support the local production of calibrated drape and magnesium sulphate. I, therefore, support as a life-saving strategy, that each pregnant woman should have access to one calibrated drape.
(Project the calibrated drape on the screen)
10. As part of what we have achieved, a new Safe Motherhood strategy has been developed to accelerate the reduction of maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. Guidelines for the management of PPH in the community and health facility have been developed, as well as the following documents: Management of Preeclampsia/Eclampsia; use of Antenatal Corticosteroids in Preterm births and Labour care guide. The Labour care guide will be used in parallel with Partograph till the scale up is achieved in the 36 states plus FCT. These strategies and guidelines will be launched today, they will be uploaded on the Federal Ministry of Health website for immediate use. My appreciation goes to our development partners who supported the development of these documents.
11. I have also approved three days annually within the Safe Motherhood week of 11th April to commemorate PPH, Preeclampsia/Eclampsia and Unsafe abortion on 13th ,14th and 15th respectively to create awareness and prevention of these three most common maternal complications causing unacceptably high maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria.
12. In commemorating this day, let us reaffirm our commitment to improving maternal health outcomes. We must continue to invest in robust healthcare systems, equipping with the necessary resources and infrastructure to provide comprehensive maternal care. Moreover, we must double our efforts to address the underlying determinants of maternal mortality, including poverty, social and gender norms, and lack of access to education.
13. Let reflect on the memories of countless lives that have been lost, serving as a solemn reminder of the urgency of our mission and the need to accelerate our efforts toward safer motherhood for all.
14. Permit me at this juncture, to acknowledge the strong commitment of Mr. President, Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR to enhancing the health and survival of women in Nigeria. I would like to commend the efforts of the Safemotherhood Sub-TWG, World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children’s’ Fund (UNICEF), Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation (BMGF) Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Pathfinder International, MCG/Jhpiego, , IPAS, TA-connect, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Solina, SFH, Plan International, White Ribbon Alliance, RMCH Rotary International and Marie Stopes International Organization Nigeria (MSION) among others, for your support.
15. Together, we can build a country where every mother has the opportunity to experience the joy of childbirth in safety and dignity. We can create a future where every mother and newborn receive the care and support, they need to thrive.
16. I urge all stakeholders, particularly the media to collaborate and extend more support to raise awareness and educate the Nigerian public on healthy behaviours, household practices and preventable maternal health complications that will impact positively on the health of the mothers and children.
17. Thank you and God bless.
