FG provides 80,906 free caesarean sections, reports 22% drop in obstetric emergency deaths

The Nigerian government says it has provided 80,906 free caesarean sections under its emergency obstetric care programme, alongside a 22 per cent reduction in deaths from obstetric emergencies in participating health facilities.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, disclosed this on Tuesday at the 2026 Nigeria Health Sector Joint Annual Review (JAR) in Abuja.

Mr Pate said nearly 100,000 free emergency obstetric and newborn healthcare services had been delivered since the programme was announced two years ago.

According to him, the services included 80,906 caesarean sections, approximately 9,100 newborn services and 6,059 repairs for vesicovaginal fistula, a condition that can cause continuous leakage of urine following childbirth injuries.

“Two years after we announced the free emergency obstetric care programme, almost 100,000 services have been delivered,” he said.

“Deaths from obstetric emergencies have fallen by 22 per cent in participating facilities. These are among the highest-risk maternal cases.”

The programme is part of the government’s efforts to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths by improving access to emergency healthcare, particularly for women who cannot afford treatment.

A caesarean section is a surgical procedure used to deliver a baby through an incision in the abdomen and uterus, typically when healthcare providers determine it’s safer for the mother, baby, or both.

Despite its necessity in many cases, the high cost of a C-section in Nigeria has long been a major barrier, preventing many women from accessing this critical care during childbirth.

Expansion of emergency maternal healthcare

Mr Pate said the government had also strengthened emergency obstetric and newborn healthcare services by providing equipment to more than 300 secondary healthcare facilities and over 500 primary healthcare centres (PHCs).

He explained that the secondary facilities were equipped to provide comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care, while the PHCs were supported to deliver basic emergency services.

“The facilities, staff and referral services must work together if we are to reduce preventable deaths,” he said.

The minister also highlighted progress under the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), which targets communities with high maternal and newborn mortality burdens.

He said the initiative had mapped and linked 750,000 pregnant women to functional health facilities.

According to him, emergency transport services operated in 171 of the 172 local government areas covered by MAMII and transported 104,566 women and newborns.

Across the wider referral network, he said 1,053 transport assets and 9,050 community drivers had transported 168,571 patients.

“These arrangements are connecting women and newborns to the care they need,” he said.

Free caesarean sections

In November 2024, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the federal government had announced free caesarean sections for eligible pregnant women as part of efforts to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.

The intervention was initially piloted in August 2024 in four healthcare facilities in Kano and Akwa Ibom states before expanding to other locations.

By April 2025, Mr Pate announced that more than 4,000 women had benefited from free caesarean sections through the programme.

During the same period, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) disclosed that the intervention had commenced in more than 100 hospitals across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

NHIA explained that eligible women who could not afford the procedure could receive it free of charge after an assessment by the hospital’s social welfare team.

It said beneficiaries were required to provide their National Identification Number, which could be presented before or after admission.

The programme involves federal, state, private and faith-based hospitals, with the NHIA coordinating payments for eligible services.

In September 2026, the government also introduced incentives under MAMII to encourage greater use of maternal and newborn healthcare services and address barriers preventing women from receiving timely care.

Maternal deaths remain a concern

Despite the reported improvements, maternal and newborn deaths remain major public health concerns in Nigeria.

At the review, the National Coordinator of the Sector-Wide Approach Coordination Office, Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, identified shortages of skilled health workers and gaps in Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) services as challenges affecting healthcare delivery.

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“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.

Mr Umar-Sadiq stressed the need to improve the deployment and retention of skilled health workers, particularly in facilities providing emergency obstetric and newborn care.

The 2026 Joint Annual Review, held under the theme “Make the Data Count”, brings together federal and state government officials, development partners and other stakeholders to assess progress under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative.

The initiative is being implemented through the Sector-Wide Approach, which seeks to improve coordination, financing and accountability in healthcare delivery.