By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Nigeria’s National Population Commission (NPC), are set to collaborate to tackle preventable maternal deaths in Nigeria.
The agreement was reached by the two organisations at the opening of a two-day workshop organised in collaboration with the Kwara State Government in Ilorin.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the initiative leverages geospatial analytics, stakeholder validation, and policy dialogue to strengthen data-driven decision-making in the health sector.
Speaking at the programme, Mr Taiwo Ibinaiye, a Population and Data Analyst at UNFPA explained that the programme was funded by the European Union (EU) and jointly implemented by UNFPA and UNICEF.
“It is part of the activities of Strengthening Access to Adolescent and Reproductive Health (SARAH), funded by the European Union.
“The SARAH project is implemented in Sokoto, Adamawa, and Kwara which supports sustainable demographic transition and Universal Health Coverage,” he said.
According to him, this partnership reinforces Nigeria’s commitment to ensuring that no woman or newborn is left behind due to geographic barriers.
He said that by combining geospatial analytics with stakeholder validation and policy dialogue, the initiative strengthens data-driven decision-making within the health sector
“The project focuses on gender-and adolescent-responsive integrated Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health services,” Ibinaiye said.
He said that the objective of the initiative was to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths, which require not only functional health facilities but also timely physical access to life-saving services.
“Many women, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach communities, face geographic and transportation barriers that delay or prevent access to care.
“To address this gap, UNFPA and NPC are applying AccessMod, an open-source geospatial tool developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to model physical accessibility to EmONC services.
“The tool integrates digital elevation models (DEMs), land-use data, transportation networks, travel speeds, physical barriers, and facility locations to estimate travel time and assess geographic coverage,” he said.
Speaking also, the Director of Public Health, Kwara State Ministry of Health, Dr Oluwatosin Fakayode explained that this was a step to address and reduce maternal mortality.
He said that all facilities that were offering maternal, newborn services across Kwara have been identified.
Fakayode stated that the Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping was done to observe areas that were still lacking and require improvement.
“We don’t want anybody to die because they cannot access a healthcare facility.
“So this is to help us visualise our facilities, so as to know where to strengthen based on the evidence.
“This is huge in terms of not only the location, but we also look at the functionality, the availability of even human resources,” he said.
The director pointed out that in spite of the dynamic nature of insecurity in parts of the state, the government would continue to ensure the health and well-being of citizens are given priority.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Abdullahi Taoheed, said that the initiative marks a significant milestone in the efforts to improve maternal and newborn health in Kwara.
According to him, the partnership between UNFPA, NPC, and the ministry is a beacon of hope for reducing preventable maternal deaths.
Taoheed said “through initiatives like the EU-SARAH project, we’re leveraging geospatial analytics and data-driven approaches to bridge healthcare gaps.” (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Bayo Sekoni
