The Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII) has launched pilot joint frontline health missions aimed at strengthening coordination and improving maternal and neonatal health outcomes across the country.
Dr. Muntaqa Umar Sadiq, National Coordinator of the NHSRII Sector Wide Coordination Office, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja. He said the initiative was developed to address persistent gaps in healthcare delivery caused by fragmented implementation, particularly at the primary healthcare level.
“Reform fails where coordination breaks, and nowhere is that more visible than at the frontline,” he said.
According to him, the new approach brings together major actors across the health sector, including the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), state ministries of health, professional bodies, and civil society organisations.
The coordinated missions involve joint visits to primary healthcare centres, referral facilities, and communities to align both supply and demand side interventions.
“At the facility level, institutional alignment is becoming tangible,” he said.
On the supply side, NPHCDA and state ministries are driving primary healthcare revitalisation through infrastructure upgrades, improved human resources for health, equipment provision, emergency transport services, and essential commodities. On the demand side, NHIA and state health insurance agencies are expanding financial access to care, including reimbursements for obstetric complications and Caesarean sections under the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Initiative (MAMII).
Umar Sadiq said the coordinated approach ensures that patients receive care through a seamless pathway rather than navigating a fragmented system. Insights gathered from patients, frontline workers, and communities during the missions are already informing state led, context specific interventions.
He emphasised that reducing maternal and neonatal mortality requires an end to end system that links early detection, referral, financing, and quality care. Key focus areas include revitalising Basic and Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC and CEmONC), deploying community health workers for early identification of high risk pregnancies, expanding digital systems for tracking and decision making, and strengthening emergency transportation.
“This is where alignment must hold — at the point of care and referral,” he said.
The government plans to scale up the initiative by expanding participation to development partners, the private sector, local government authorities, and other stakeholders. The effort will also feed into quarterly performance dialogues and Joint Annual Reviews to strengthen accountability across the health sector.
Umar Sadiq noted that the reforms are being implemented under the NHSRII following deliberations at the 14th National Steering Committee and Ministerial Oversight Committee meeting chaired by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare. The sector wide shift is anchored on the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), which integrates financing, service delivery, and accountability.
He revealed that more than N32.8 billion has been approved for the first quarter of 2026 to support over 13,000 primary healthcare facilities nationwide through the BHCPF. Under MAMII, more than 2.1 million pregnant women have received antenatal care services, representing about 79 per cent coverage in priority local government areas. According to him, maternal mortality is already declining in supported areas, alongside improvements in service utilisation and health system readiness. Ongoing reforms include expansion of CEmONC services, deployment of community health workers, operationalisation of emergency transport systems, and large scale reimbursement of obstetric emergencies by NHIA.
He added that investments in solar power, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), medical equipment, and essential commodities are enhancing the capacity of facilities to provide round the clock quality care.
“The test is simple: can we detect high risk pregnancies early, ensure timely referral, and guarantee seamless payment for life saving, quality care? That is the standard we are working to deliver,” he said.
