Nasarawa claims major drop in maternal, child death

Nasarawa State has made significant strides in tackling maternal and child mortality, particularly in the Keffi and Nasarawa Local Government Areas, which previously faced a high burden of these issues. The state government attributes this success to sustained policies and strategies focused on improving healthcare delivery for its residents.

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Our maternal and child health has improved, and we have seen our enrolment in health insurance also improve. We have seen our surveillance, that is our health security, also improve.

Dr. Gaza Gwamna, the Commissioner for Health, announced the improvements during the opening of the 2026 Joint Annual Review meeting in Lafia. He stated that the state has seen positive changes in maternal and child health outcomes, alongside increased enrollment in health insurance and enhanced health security surveillance. These improvements are the result of deliberate implementation of policies, adapted from federal guidelines, specifically targeting areas with high mortality rates.

The Joint Annual Review meeting serves as a critical platform for health workers and partners to review the sector's performance and plan for the upcoming year. This strategic dialogue, coordinated by the Ministry of Health and supported by international and federal partners including the World Health Organization, allows stakeholders to assess progress on planned activities and prepare for future initiatives.

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Where we had a high burden of maternal mortality, like Keffi and Nasarawa, we have been deliberate in implementing some policies that were formulated initially by the Federal Ministry of Health and, of course, we adapted them and have seen great improvement.

Dr. Gwamna urged health workers to continue building their capacity to ensure better healthcare delivery across the state's 13 local government areas. The meeting emphasizes a collaborative approach, bringing all health sector agencies under one umbrella to foster continuous improvement and strengthen the healthcare system. Participants are encouraged to provide detailed contributions to further boost healthcare services.

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We are here to review the performance of the health sector, which we tagged as the Joint Annual Review. So what that means is that everyone in the health sector will come under one umbrella to review our planned activities and see the progress we have made.