Early impact of Safer Births Bundle of Care in Nigeria
In January 2025 two implementations of the Safer Births Bundle of Care program began in Nigeria. One, led by Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), in Gombe State and the other implemented by Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) in Borno State. Both states lie in Northeastern Nigeria, a geopolitical zone which has the highest burden of maternal and newborn deaths in the country.
Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC) is a program developed by the Safer Births Consortium, a multidisciplinary research and development collaboration that began in Tanzania. The program focusses on developing the health workforce, through embedding low-dose, high frequency simulation training, alongside improved clinical tools, which target the management of the leading causes of perinatal mortality. Alongside the innovations, the program comprises data-driven quality improvement initiatives and a focus on sustainability over time.
In total, the two implementations cover 15 primary healthcare facilities, with reports showing that between May – August 2025 at least 110 babies were saved through effective resuscitation thanks to the training and tools provided through the SBBC program.
Gombe State in Numbers
CHAI has been collaborating with Laerdal Global Health (LGH) on integrating the SBBC model across an initial eleven PHC facilities, with the inclusion of clinical innovations use and simulation-based training, as well as continuous quality improvement strategies and supportive mentorship for health providers, creating feedback loops to address care deficiencies, with the aim to develop a sustainable model for enhancing health outcomes in Gombe state.
The early results from the ongoing SBBC pilot in 11 facilities have informed the Government of Gombe State’s decision to integrate SBBC into its 2026 costed annual operational plan and to incorporate SBBC training into the State Nursing and Midwifery pre-service scheme. This demonstrates the State’s leadership and ownership of the program, as well as its commitment to institutionalizing the approach within existing health systems.
“Building on the achievements of the program so far, the Nigerian Government plans to scale up SBBC implementation to 59 PHCs and 11 secondary health facilities in the next one year.”
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With funding from Norad and close collaboration with BSMoH and BSPHCDB, NCA is leading the introduction of the Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC) in four health facilities in Borno State, Nigeria.
Borno State in Numbers
The integrated and evidence based approach of SBBC aims to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths, strengthen local health systems, and set the stage for national replication in collaboration with the Nigerian government.
Tinbit Esayas Zewge continues: “We are pleased to already be seeing positive indicators that the program is making a difference. Pending the availability of additional funding, we are ready to scale up the project to reach 300 more health facilities in 3 years reaching the areas where the need is the highest i.e. Adamawa, Bauchi, Taraba, and Yobe.”
With strong engagement from the Nigerian Government, it seems clear that the scale up of SBBC is certain. As a country with some of the highest levels of maternal and newborn deaths globally, Laerdal Global Health is determined to continue working in collaboration with our Nigerian partners and implementors to ensure more lives can be saved on the day of birth.