Kano State has recorded a decline in maternal mortality, with the maternal mortality ratio falling from 1,025 to 358 deaths per 100,000 live births, representing a reduction of more than 50 per cent.
The State Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Coordinator, Mansura Yahya Haruna, disclosed this during a two-day Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition RMNCA+N Technical Working Group meeting in Kano.
The meeting was organised by the Kano State Ministry of Health with support from Pathfinder International, the Centre for Communication and Social Impact, CCSI, the African Centre for Excellence in Population Health and Policy, ACEPHAP, and other development partners.
Haruna explained that the latest maternal mortality figure was generated through a project led by ACEPHAP under the leadership of Professor Hadiza Galadanci.
She said the data was helping the state government to identify priority areas and design evidence-based interventions to improve maternal and child health outcomes.
According to her, the reduction in maternal mortality reflects the impact of data-driven interventions and the concerted efforts of the state government and its development partners to strengthen healthcare services.
Haruna, however, said the state would not relent in its efforts to further reduce maternal and newborn deaths.
She explained that interventions would be expanded beyond the identified MAMI LGAs to cover the entire state, ensuring that women and newborns benefit from improved healthcare services.
The Coordinator said the government was also prioritising the scale-up of essential newborn care, as well as strengthening antenatal and postnatal services.
She added that plans were underway to establish neonatal corners across primary and secondary healthcare facilities to enable health workers to properly assess newborns and provide immediate care when necessary.
Haruna explained that the neonatal corners would also help health workers identify newborns requiring specialised treatment before discharge.
She said the state was equally planning to expand Special Care Baby Units across Kano to provide appropriate care for newborns with complications.
The State Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Coordinator stressed that ensuring proper assessment and care of every newborn before discharge remained critical to reducing preventable newborn deaths.