Nigeria tracks 223k pregnancies

Nigeria’s primary healthcare agency says it has enrolled and monitored 223,784 pregnant women under a national programme that follows them through pregnancy and links them to care in 33 states. (premiumtimesng.com) Muyi Aina, the chief executive of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, disclosed the figure on April 22, 2026, at the agency’s first-quarter media briefing in Abuja. He said the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative began in high-burden areas and is still compiling detailed service data nationwide. (premiumtimesng.com) The programme works like a follow-up list for pregnancy: health officials identify women early, track whether they show up for antenatal visits, and connect them to free services and immunisation campaigns if they miss care. Aina said the goal is to make sure women “get the care that they need” before delivery and after birth. (premiumtimesng.com) Nigeria is trying this at a time when its maternal and newborn death burden remains among the world’s highest. Premium Times, citing World Health Organization figures, reported that Nigeria accounted for about 28.3 percent of global maternal deaths and had a maternal mortality ratio of 1,047 deaths per 100,000 live births. (premiumtimesng.com) The government’s own 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey shows why officials are focusing on follow-up. Antenatal care coverage was 63 percent, skilled birth attendance was 46 percent, and postnatal care within two days of delivery rose to 42 percent, leaving large gaps between pregnancy and safe delivery. (health.gov.ng) The same survey found neonatal mortality at 41 deaths per 1,000 live births, nearly unchanged from 39 in 2018. It also found that 31 percent of children aged 12 to 23 months were completely unvaccinated, a sign that the same families missing maternal care are often missing infant services too. (health.gov.ng) The tracking push sits inside a wider primary-care overhaul. In October 2025, the federal government approved ₦32.9 billion through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, saying the money would support more than 8,000 primary healthcare centres nationwide and expand to 13,000 facilities in the programme’s next phase. (fmino.gov.ng) That funding plan also added stricter digital claims tracking, data-quality checks, and verified beneficiary lists tied to National Identification Numbers. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency says its mandate includes planning, monitoring, and improving primary healthcare services across Nigeria. (fmino.gov.ng; nphcda.gov.ng) For now, the clearest test is whether a list of 223,784 pregnancies turns into more clinic visits, more skilled deliveries, and fewer deaths in the 33 states already using the system. Nigeria’s health ministry has already tied that effort to its Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Initiative and child survival plan for 2025 to 2029. (premiumtimesng.com; health.gov.ng)