On a Tuesday morning in Abuja, the Federal Government of Nigeria kicked off a sweeping new initiative: the nationwide distribution of essential maternal and child health commodities. Orchestrated by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) in collaboration with development partners, the launch marks a renewed push to combat Nigeria’s persistently high rates of maternal and newborn deaths. According to The PUNCH, the commodities rolled out are valued at a staggering N2.9 billion and will be sent across 10 states in the first phase—a move that underscores both the urgency and the scale of the challenge.
The stakes are high. According to figures from the United Nations Children’s Fund, Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate stands at 576 per 100,000 live births, the fourth highest in the world. Each year, approximately 262,000 babies die at birth in Nigeria—second only to India in national totals. The numbers for infants and young children are equally sobering: 69 per 1,000 live births die in infancy, while under-five mortality soars to 128 per 1,000. More than half of these deaths—about 64%—stem from preventable conditions like malaria, pneumonia, or diarrhoea.
Dr. Muyi Aina, Executive Director and CEO of the NPHCDA, addressed a crowd of health workers and officials at the Abuja flag-off, emphasizing the initiative’s life-saving intent. “We need to remind ourselves that our mothers and our newborns deserve better. Too many women die needlessly from preventable causes,” Aina declared. The plan targets 21 categories of essential maternal and neonatal health commodities, aiming to reach 1,936 primary healthcare facilities across 80 local government areas. The rollout is carefully zoned: the North-West will see supplies distributed to 940 primary health centres, the North-East to 756, the North Central to 124, and the South-East to 116.
This isn’t just about boxes of supplies. The initiative includes training for health workers, equipment upgrades, and infrastructure improvements—all designed to ensure that mothers and newborns receive quality care at the frontlines. “The states have the primary responsibility for service delivery. This is an intervention by the Federal Government to fill some gaps and show the kind of difference they can make, so that states will take it on,” Aina explained. Importantly, agreements have been struck with state governments to ensure sustainability, with planning for the next phase already underway.
Dr. Mary Brantwo, representing the World Health Organization, called the distributed commodities “tools of hope, dignity, and survival.” She praised NPHCDA’s efforts to ensure supplies reach communities in greatest need, saying, “This handover is a testament to the power of partnership, and to the progress that is possible when we align our efforts with national priorities and global standards.” Achu Lordfred of the United Nations Population Fund echoed this sentiment, highlighting the intervention’s alignment with UNFPA’s mission to prevent maternal deaths and promote family planning. Lordfred specifically pointed to the introduction of heat-stable carbetocin, a drug that reduces maternal deaths, as an example of how targeted interventions can save lives.
While Nigeria’s government is investing heavily and setting up annual tracking to refine strategies, the challenge of maternal mortality is far from unique to West Africa. In the United States, maternal health disparities—especially among Black women—have become a matter of urgent debate and legislative action.
On August 27, 2025, advocates, legislators, and healthcare professionals gathered at the California State Museum in Sacramento for a legislative briefing titled "The State of Black Maternal Health." The event, hosted by the California Black Health Network (CBHN), shined a spotlight on the disproportionate toll of pregnancy-related complications and deaths among Black women. Adjoa Jones, Director of the African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Prevention Initiative at the L.A. County Department, shared the heartbreaking stories of April Valentine and Briget Cromer—two Black women who died after childbirth in 2023. Valentine’s family filed a wrongful-death claim, asserting her pulmonary embolism was preventable, while Cromer’s family lodged a formal complaint alleging systemic racial bias in care.
The data is stark: Black women account for just 5% of pregnancies in California but 21% of pregnancy-related deaths, according to the California Department of Public Health. Senator Akilah Weber Pierson, an obstetrician-gynecologist and keynote speaker at the briefing, didn’t mince words about the crisis. “Here in California, we tragically lose another mother due to pregnancy-related complications every five days. Here and nationally, Black mothers are three to four times more likely to be one of those mothers lost. That’s coming from 40% of maternal deaths.”
Legislative action is underway. Assembly Bill 2319, signed into law in 2024, mandates that healthcare providers in California complete implicit bias training by June 1, 2025. Panelists at the event called for more than just training—they advocated for system-wide accountability, collaboration between healthcare agencies and communities, and a commitment to long-term resources. Rhonda Smith, Executive Director of CBHN, highlighted the tireless work of women across the state and emphasized the importance of culturally competent care. “We just don’t want our systems to continue to be negligent toward Black women, Black families, and Black people,” Jones added during her remarks.
Senator Weber Pierson argued that addressing disparities requires more than policy tweaks—it demands confronting structural racism and ensuring access to high-quality, culturally competent care. “We must care for, protect, and invest in Black women,” she said. “Because when we do that, we are investing in all women, we are investing in all families, and we are investing in all our communities.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, community-based solutions are gaining traction. In the Bronx, where maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the United States, doula Myla Flores is quietly leading a revolution in care. As highlighted by CNN, Flores provides holistic, culturally responsive support to mothers, focusing on the systemic issues behind poor outcomes. Her work is part of a broader movement to reduce maternal deaths and improve birth experiences in underserved communities. By offering emotional support, advocacy, and culturally competent guidance, doulas like Flores are bridging gaps that traditional healthcare systems often miss.
What ties these disparate efforts together—from Nigeria to California to the Bronx—is a recognition that maternal and newborn deaths are rarely inevitable. They are, more often than not, the result of systemic failures: lack of access, inadequate resources, bias, and the absence of culturally competent care. Whether through government-led distribution of health commodities, legislative reforms, or grassroots advocacy, the message is clear—change is possible, but only if all levels of society commit to it.
As the world watches these initiatives unfold, the hope is that fewer families will have to mourn preventable losses, and more mothers and babies will survive—and thrive—no matter where they call home.
