Maternal case fatality rate drops by 60% in supported health facilities – FG

Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, National Coordinator of SWAp Coordination Office, presenting the health sector reform report at the 2026 Joint Annual Review in Abuja. Sent by Nike

The Nigerian government has reported a 60 per cent reduction in the maternal case fatality rate in health facilities supported by the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) between 2024 and September 2026.

The reported rate declined from 80.5 in 2024 to 31.9 in September 2026, exceeding the government’s initial target of reducing facility-based maternal deaths by 30 per cent.

The National Coordinator of the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) Coordination Office, Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, disclosed this on Tuesday during the 2026 Nigeria Health Sector-Wide Joint Annual Review (JAR) in Abuja.

Presenting the progress report on the National Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII), Mr Umar-Sadiq said the improvement followed coordinated reforms aimed at strengthening healthcare financing, improving the quality of services and expanding access to maternal healthcare.

“Following several validation exercises, including three rounds of telephone surveys and physical assessments through the FASTA approach, we are pleased to report that maternal death case fatality rates in BHCPF facilities have declined by 60 per cent,” he said.

“This exceeds our initial target of 30 per cent.”

He said the findings, drawn from routine health information and facility reports, cover 8,309 BHCPF-supported facilities.

Mr Umar-Sadiq said facilities outside the BHCPF programme continued to report substantially higher maternal case fatality ratios.

The 2026 Joint Annual Review, themed “Make Reform Data Count,” is part of the federal government’s efforts to assess the implementation of NHSRII and SWAp.

Mr Umar-Sadiq said the government had committed in 2023 to reducing facility-based maternal deaths by 30 per cent as part of broader efforts to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes.

He explained that the reforms were designed to address challenges affecting healthcare delivery, including inadequate financing, weak accountability, poor facility readiness and limited access to essential services.

He said the federal government subsequently introduced measures to strengthen primary healthcare facilities, improve emergency referrals and expand financial support for maternal healthcare.

He explained that the reported maternal case fatality rate in BHCPF-supported facilities fell sharply between 2024 and 2025, before declining further in 2026.

Mr Umar-Sadiq said the results were encouraging and consistent with improvements in healthcare financing, facility readiness and quality of care.

He, however, acknowledged the need for further assessment of the factors responsible for the improvements and measures required to sustain them.

“The Joint Annual Review provides an opportunity for stakeholders to examine these findings at state and facility levels, understand the factors responsible for the improvements and identify ways to sustain the gains,” he said.

The findings were drawn from the District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) and validated through the Facility Assessment and Supportive Supervision Technical Assistance (FASTA) process.

Beyond the reported reduction in maternal case fatality rates, the government also recorded improvements in the use of maternal and child healthcare services.

Mr Umar-Sadiq said findings from the 2026 Mini-Demographic and Health Survey, presented ahead of their public dissemination, indicated improvements in 12 of 13 indicators covering family planning, maternal health and child health.

According to him, progress in skilled birth attendance was 11 times faster during the reform period from 2023 to 2026 than in the preceding five years.

He said improvements in postnatal checks were seven times faster, while progress in institutional deliveries was three times faster.

He said the findings also showed improvements in antenatal care attendance and other essential maternal healthcare services.

Mr Umar-Sadiq attributed the gains to coordinated interventions aimed at ensuring that more women receive timely and affordable care, particularly in underserved communities.

These interventions include strengthening links between communities and health facilities, improving the availability of essential medical supplies and expanding emergency medical transportation.

Despite the reported improvements, maternal deaths remain a major concern in Nigeria.

Speaking at the review, the Director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, John Ovuoraye, disclosed that 3,273 maternal deaths were reported in health facilities in 2026, compared with approximately 5,000 in 2024.

Mr Ovuoraye said the figures were contained in the 2026 JAR Statistical Book, which assesses progress under the government’s health sector reforms.

The figures represent reported maternal deaths across health facilities, while the 60 per cent reduction earlier highlighted by Mr Umar-Sadiq relates specifically to maternal case fatality rates in BHCPF-supported facilities.

Mr Ovuoraye said the statistical report was intended to help the government and development partners assess progress, identify gaps and agree on measures to improve healthcare delivery.

He explained that the review would also examine national and state performance under the 2023–2027 Health Sector Strategic Blueprint.

Although the government reported improvements in maternal healthcare, Mr Umar-Sadiq acknowledged that several challenges continue to affect service delivery.

These include shortages of skilled health workers, gaps in Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC), inadequate deployment of community health workers and concerns about the quality of health data.

He stressed the need to ensure that investments in healthcare infrastructure are supported by adequate medical personnel.

“Investments in CEmONC facilities, infrastructure and equipment must be matched with adequate numbers of skilled health workers. We must also modernise our tertiary health institutions,” he said.

According to him, the next phase of reforms will prioritise the deployment and retention of skilled healthcare workers, particularly in facilities providing emergency obstetric and newborn care.

He also identified the need to expand successful interventions to underserved and high-burden local government areas.

Other priorities include improving healthcare financing, strengthening accountability and ensuring that increased government investment translates into improvements in health outcomes.

Mr Umar-Sadiq said sustained collaboration between federal and state governments, development partners, traditional institutions, civil society organisations and the private sector would be essential to maintaining the progress recorded.

Nike Adebowale covers the health beat. She holds a degree from Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti. Twitter: @nikeadebowale1