Nigerian Health Commissioner praises Safer Births program as strides made towards adoption in Nigeria
In late February 2024 Professor Baba Mallam Gana, Commissioner of Health for Borno State, Nigeria expressed admiration for the Safer Births Bundle of Care implementation in Tanzania in a video shared by implementing partner Haydom Lutheran Hospital.
We have witnessed how the Safer Births Bundle of Care has impacted in the reduction of maternal mortality and newborn mortality. These reductions have been greater than the initial aims of 10%. This is a big achievement, and I would like to replicate this in Nigeria, especially in the northeastern states where maternal mortality is extremely high.
Professor Baba Mallam Gana was part of a delegation from Nigeria who travelled to Tanzania to witness the SBBC program in action and meet with key collaborating partners to understand more about how to effectively implement the program. Karoline Myklebust Linde, CEO and Jennifer Gilbertson, Director of Impact and Implementation of Laerdal Global Health were in attendance during the visit, alongside the Safer Births team in Tanzania.
Nigeria accounts for 23% of all maternal mortality, globally. The potential to help save lives here is huge.
Reflecting on the importance on this visit, Karoline says: “It is clear that the Safer Births Bundle of Care program in Tanzania, with its phenomenal preliminary results and subsequent scale up, has provided a strong and compelling case for other countries who have high rates of maternal mortality. Nigeria accounts for 23% of all maternal mortality, globally. The potential to help save lives here is huge. The interest from Nigeria, at both federal and state level, marks the biggest opportunity Laerdal Global Health has had in its 14 year history. We are hopeful that this lifesaving program will be adopted into Nigeria soon.”
Background: How did this visit come about?
Earlier this year, Karoline was invited to present the Safer Births Bundle of Care at the Inaugural Meeting of Northeast Region Health Commissioners Forum in Borno, Nigeria. This was an important gathering of health commissioners from the region to discuss key health challenges and Karoline was allotted ninety minutes of the two-day event, including a presentation and a demonstration of scenario training for the management of post-partum hemorrhage.
In the seven key actions that emerged from the meeting, two of these directly mentioned the Safer Births Bundle of Care as a way to help reduce the burden of maternal mortality in the region.
- Give strong government ownership and prioritize the Safer Births Bundle of Care to promote safe birth and reduce mortality and train health personnel on it, introducing how to record and interpret its data
- Advocate to the Federal Ministry of Health to provide the northeast states financing for Safer Births Bundle of Care, especially in security compromised locations.
A further priority outlined the need to improve training of primary healthcare professionals.
As part of Karoline’s trip to Nigeria, she and Eivind Fjeldstad, the representative from the Norwegian Embassy, also visited three hospitals across the Borno region: Umar Shehu Ultra Modern Hospital, Borno State Specialist Hospital and New Borno State Teaching Hospital. Through these visits they witnessed infrastructural developments, including the construction of a new teaching hospital. Karoline also got to meet with birth attendants and midwives, learning more about how they currently develop and maintain skills.
“There was real excitement from these healthcare providers when I demonstrated NeoNatalie Live with the Upright Bag Mask.” says Karoline.
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