As Nigeria joins other African countries in marking this year’s Vaccination Week, the Federal Government has intensified efforts to reduce maternal mortality and boost primary healthcare access across the country.
The Executive Director, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Muyi Aina, disclosed this at in Abuja as part of activities marking the African Vaccination Week.
He explained that the African Vaccination Week focuses on strengthening immunization systems and improving access to life-saving vaccines.
Dr. Muyi Aina revealed that under the Women and Unknown Initiative Manual, the Federal Government is prioritizing pregnant women in underserved areas by identifying and providing them with targeted support throughout their pregnancy with the aimed at drastically reducing maternal morbidity and mortality.
“Nigeria currently has a maternal mortality rate of 512 deaths per 100,000 live births one of the highest in the world described it as unacceptable,”
According to him, to tackle this menace, the Agency has identified 172 local government areas out of the 774 nationwide that contribute to over 55% of maternal deaths.
Dr. Aina confirmed that the programme has already kicked off in five states including ,Abuja, Borno, Kano, Ogun, and Cross River with several more at advanced planning stages.
He also highlighted a notable improvement in healthcare service utilization at primary health centres nationwide, reporting over 20 million patient encounters per quarter—an increase from the previous year.
“Antenatal care visits have doubled, and in the last year alone, over 6 million women received essential maternity services,” he said.
Dr. Aina further emphasized the Agency’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s primary healthcare network, with a focus on women, children, and disease prevention as core pillars of national health reform.
In their separate goodwill messages, the Country Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF, Christine Mundate, and her counterpart from the World Health Organization WHO, reiterated their commitment to providing technical and financial support to ensure that every child in Nigeria is vaccinated, with a particular focus on addressing zero-dose cases.
Stakeholders at the event called for increased media support to further educate Nigerians on the importance of addressing vaccine hesitancy in the country.
