Health
Nigeria targets expanded MMS coverage for pregnant women
Nigeria is intensifying efforts to expand access to Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) for pregnant women, with health authorities pushing for increased local production and sustainable financing to reduce dependence on donor support.
The move was highlighted on Thursday in Abuja during a validation meeting on findings from the 2025 Market Landscaping and Segmentation Analysis.
Speaking at the event, Olufunmilola Adegbite, Director and Head of the Nutrition Department at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, said strengthening domestic manufacturing would be crucial to achieving the country’s maternal health targets.
“Local production will be critical in achieving the country’s ambition for reaching pregnant women with MMS and ensuring long-term sustainability,” she said.
According to Ms Adegbite, local manufacturing would improve the availability of supplements, reduce dependence on imports, and protect supply chains from global disruptions.
Six-state study
The 2025 market landscape analysis covered Lagos, Kano, Bauchi, Imo, Niger and Bayelsa, selected to reflect Nigeria’s diverse geographical zones and market segments.
Commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with Sight and Life and the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), the study examined financing systems and broader implementation requirements needed to support nationwide MMS scale-up.
Researchers assessed existing health financing mechanisms alongside key implementation enablers, including supply chains, regulatory frameworks and stakeholder engagement.
Why MMS matters
MMS are daily antenatal supplements containing iron, folic acid and other essential vitamins and minerals needed to support maternal nutrition and healthier birth outcomes.
Unlike conventional iron-folic acid supplements, MMS provide a broader range of micronutrients.
Evidence suggests the intervention can further reduce the risks of low birth weight, preterm delivery and other adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Ms Adegbite said Nigeria has made significant progress in aligning with global maternal nutrition standards.
According to her, MMS was approved for use in 2021, incorporated into the National Essential Medicines List and integrated into national guidelines on micronutrient deficiency control and antenatal care management.
“These achievements demonstrate Nigeria’s commitment to improving maternal and newborn nutritional outcomes,” she said.
Financing remains critical
Despite these policy gains, Ms Adegbite said considerable work remains to ensure effective implementation and wider access.
She identified sustainable financing as a major requirement for expansion, noting that mechanisms such as the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) and dedicated federal and state budget allocations could help support broader coverage.
She added that findings from the market analysis would provide evidence to guide policy decisions, investment priorities and implementation strategies.
Although progress has been made in institutionalising MMS, she said challenges persist in supply systems, regulation, financing and stakeholder coordination.
Concerns over donor dependence
In her remarks, the Country Manager of Sight and Life, Zainab Abubakar, said the study sought to identify sustainable pathways for financing MMS within Nigeria’s health system.
Ms Abubakar noted that inadequate funding, limited insurance coverage and heavy reliance on out-of-pocket spending continue to restrict access to maternal nutrition services.
“The research assessed the health financing landscape in Nigeria to identify viable pathways for sustainable domestic financing,” she said.
“It explored opportunities for resource mobilisation, evaluated potential funding mechanisms, highlighted implementation bottlenecks and developed context-specific recommendations.”
‘Women’s issues need funding’
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the President on Health and dRPC board member, Salma Anas, called for stronger political commitment to maternal nutrition programmes.
Ms Anas said anaemia in pregnancy remains a major public health challenge and urged leaders to prioritise investments that benefit women and children.
According to her, programmes targeting women and children often struggle to attract adequate funding because they are incorrectly viewed as issues affecting only women.
“Every woman’s issue is a man’s business,” she said.
“Let us do away with the woman’s issue. Let’s budget it. Let’s release it and let it be used for the intended purpose.”
Background
Nigeria adopted MMS following global recommendations and growing evidence that the intervention provides greater nutritional benefits than traditional iron-folic acid supplements.
According to UNICEF, MMS contains 15 essential vitamins and minerals and has become the global reference standard for maternal micronutrient supplementation.
READ ALSO: Study ranks Lagos and Kano as the most ready for maternal supplement rollout
PREMIUM TIMES reported in 2024 that the federal government distributed about 1.3 million bottles of MMS to pregnant women across 12 states during the early phase of implementation.
UNICEF later announced that Nigeria would receive an additional 3 million bottles in 2025 through the Child Nutrition Fund, following the delivery of 3 million bottles in 2024.
However, with an estimated 12 million pregnancies recorded annually, stakeholders say existing supplies remain insufficient, highlighting the need for expanded coverage and stronger domestic investment.
They argue that shifting from donor-dependent supply chains to local manufacturing and market-based financing mechanisms will be essential to ensuring the long-term sustainability of MMS scale-up.
The Kano State Government says it has implemented about 90 per cent of its healthcare blueprint within three years of Governor Abba Yusuf’s administration.
The Commissioner for Health, Abubakar Labaran, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists in Kano on the achievements recorded in the health sector.
Mr Labaran said the state had fully implemented the Abuja Declaration on Health, demonstrating its commitment to improving healthcare delivery.
He said the administration sanitised admissions into health training institutions through the introduction of a digital process, eliminating fraud that previously cost the state more than N1 billion.
“The government had also revived the training and retraining of healthcare personnel, restoring professionalism and credibility in the sector,” he said.
Mr Labaran said several health-related courses had secured accreditation from regulatory bodies, and opportunities had been created for medical doctors to advance to consultant status.
He said the measures had strengthened healthcare institutions and improved service delivery.
The commissioner said maternal mortality was being tackled through free healthcare for pregnant women, including free caesarean sections in more than 30 government hospitals.
He said more than N60 million was spent monthly to sustain the programme and ensure access to quality maternal care.
“Ambulances had been provided to all 44 local government areas to support emergency services, particularly for pregnant women in labour”.
He added that 484 mini ambulances had been procured for distribution to all wards to address transportation challenges during emergencies.
Mr Labaran said 320 primary healthcare centres had been rehabilitated, and the government was working to ensure every ward had a functional centre.
Additionally, he said health personnel had been recruited through collaboration between the state and federal governments and deployed to the facilities.
READ ALSO: Agency disbursed N400m to health facilities in Borno in Q1, Q2 – Official
He said the government was also strengthening secondary healthcare services across the 44 LGAs.
“Drug availability in hospitals had improved significantly from 30 per cent at the start of the administration through investment and prompt payment to suppliers,” he said.
The establishment of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control was another major milestone, he said, noting that it had enhanced the state’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health emergencies.
Mr Labaran reaffirmed the government’s commitment to sustaining investments to ensure accessible, affordable and quality healthcare for all residents.
(NAN)
Nigeria has unveiled a new National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (NSP) 2026–2030, outlining a transition from donor-supported interventions to a domestically financed and government-led response to HIV/AIDS.
The plan, presented on Thursday in Abuja, comes amid declining external funding and growing calls for Nigeria to assume greater ownership of its health system, particularly in sustaining long-term HIV interventions.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Temitope Ilori, said Nigeria’s HIV response had reached a critical point that requires a strategic reset in line with emerging realities.
Ms Ilori said the country had recorded significant progress over the past two decades, including reductions in new infections and improved treatment access, but noted that changing global and financial conditions demanded a new approach.
She explained that the new strategic plan represents a recalibration rather than a replacement of the existing framework and aligns Nigeria’s response with emerging evidence and global priorities.
“This new Strategic Plan reflects lessons learned from implementation, new evidence from the National HIV Estimates and the need to reposition the response in a rapidly changing global environment,” she said.
Shift to domestic ownership
Ms Ilori said declining external funding and fragmented programme structures had made it necessary for Nigeria to adopt a government-led and government-owned response model.
According to her, the NSP prioritises the integration of HIV services into national systems across sectors, including health, education, youth development, gender and justice.
She added that the plan was developed through extensive consultations involving government institutions, civil society organisations, development partners, private sector actors and community networks.
“This Strategic Plan calls on all stakeholders to renew their commitment and work collectively to achieve a resilient, equitable, and sustainable HIV response for Nigeria,” she said.
Framework
Presenting the framework, NACA’s Deputy Director of Policy, Planning and Coordination, Mariam Ezekwe, said Nigeria’s HIV response had reached a decisive point, with notable achievements but persistent gaps that require structural reforms.
Ms Ezekwe said the country had made substantial gains in reducing infections and expanding access to treatment, but stressed that the next phase must focus on sustainability and stronger system integration.
She outlined the country’s current realities, describing a system that had made progress but still faced structural weaknesses in financing and service delivery.
“Fifty-two per cent reduction in new infections since 2010, and just about 80 per cent of People Living with HIV/AIDS know their status in 2025,” she said.
“These are the latest data from the Spectrum estimate. And currently we have an estimated 1,985,284 people living with HIV/AIDS.”
She added that the NSP prioritises legislative financing, health insurance expansion, and integration of HIV services into primary healthcare systems.
Private sector, faith groups seek deeper integration
During a panel discussion on domestic financing and sustainability, stakeholders called for stronger private sector participation, expanded insurance coverage and formal integration of faith-based organisations into the national response.
Representing the Nigeria Business Coalition Against AIDS (NIBUCCA), Opeyemi Yekini said private sector actors should be treated as co-owners of the HIV response rather than mere contributors.
Mr Yekini noted that businesses increasingly recognise that workforce health directly affects productivity and economic stability.
Also speaking, Executive Secretary of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), Tajudeen Ibrahim, said Nigeria’s transition strategy extends beyond enrolling people living with HIV into health insurance schemes and includes strengthening systems capable of sustaining HIV financing after donor support declines.
Mr Ibrahim said governments at different levels were already committing resources to HIV programmes, but weak tracking and reporting mechanisms made it difficult to determine the full extent and impact of domestic investments.
He said strengthening financial accountability and visibility would be essential to demonstrating country ownership and ensuring resources are used efficiently.
“There are several mechanisms that we are currently using to fund health, and these mechanisms need to be properly tracked. As part of Global Fund support to the country, we are investing in strengthening our public financial management system,” he said.
Emmanuel Okechukwu, co-chair of the Nigeria Interfaith Coalition on AIDS (NIFCOB-AIDS), also called for the formal integration of faith-based organisations into the national HIV response framework.
He said faith institutions had long played a central role in providing care and social support, particularly at the community level.
“The faith-based community is asking for integration, both in policy and programming. If you want to attain universal health coverage, you must go to the people who are in the grassroots to provide the healthcare communities require,” he said.
READ ALSO: Gombe, UNICEF launch N1bn intervention for malnourished children
System integration by 2030
The NSP 2026–2030 outlines a long-term goal of eliminating parallel HIV programmes and embedding interventions within routine government systems.
NACA said implementation of the plan would increasingly rely on domestic financing, strengthened health insurance systems, digital health expansion and coordinated multisectoral accountability mechanisms.
By 2030, Nigeria aims to sustain HIV control through integrated systems fully owned and financed at national and subnational levels.
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