A grassroots health intervention led by National Health Fellow, Peace Daful, has reduced preventable maternal and neonatal deaths in Mangu local government area of Plateau State.
The pilot project, launched at the Primary Health Care Centre, Mangu 1, aims to improve access to lifesaving maternal and newborn health commodities while strengthening community trust in primary healthcare services.
Daful said the initiative was borne out of repeated encounters with mothers who lost their babies to neonatal infections and childbirth complications that could have been prevented with timely care.
According to her, the project employs a sector-wide approach that combines commodity support, capacity building for healthcare workers, community engagement, and collaboration with public and private stakeholders.
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She explained that the intervention is aligned with the National Health Fellowship, a federal government program implemented across the country's 774 local government areas to drive innovation and improve health outcomes at the grassroots.
The project prioritises access to two World Health Organisation-recommended commodities -- misoprostol for the prevention of postpartum haemorrhage and chlorhexidine digluconate gel for safe umbilical cord care.
Daful noted that postpartum haemorrhage accounts for about 25 to 30 per cent of maternal deaths in Nigeria. At the same time, neonatal infections remain a significant cause of newborn mortality, particularly in rural communities where unsafe traditional cord care practices persist.
She said the project had improved the availability of the commodities across participating primary healthcare centres. At the same time, frontline health workers received targeted training on correct dosage, timing and counselling to ensure safe use.
Community engagement, she added, formed a central pillar of the intervention, with traditional rulers, women's groups, and community influencers mobilised to promote safe childbirth practices and dispel harmful misconceptions.
Preliminary monitoring data from participating facilities indicate a sharp increase in the use of chlorhexidine for newborn cord care, replacing practices such as applying salt, toothpaste, spirits, and hot spoons.
Health facilities have also reported improved availability and correct use of misoprostol during deliveries, with early trends showing fewer cases of severe newborn infections and reduced complications linked to excessive bleeding after childbirth.
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The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for Primary Health Care in Mangu LGA, Mr Alfred Potal, speaking on behalf of the Director of Primary Health Care, described the intervention as impactful and timely.
He commended the Federal Government for the National Health Fellowship, noting that Daful's work had strengthened service delivery and boosted confidence among health workers at the primary healthcare level.
Also speaking, the Officer-in-Charge of PHC Mangu 1, Mrs Felicia, said women previously relied on unsafe traditional methods due to the unavailability and cost of approved chlorhexidine gel.
She said the intervention had ensured that every woman delivering at the facility now has access to recommended newborn cord care.
One of the beneficiaries, who delivered her baby at the facility two days earlier, said she had unknowingly applied toothpaste to her baby's umbilical cord before receiving proper guidance through the programme.
She expressed gratitude for the intervention, saying the new knowledge would help protect her child and others in the community.
Public health experts say the Mangu experience aligns with Nigeria's Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent and Elderly Health strategy and Sustainable Development Goal 3, which targets an end to preventable maternal and newborn deaths by 2030.
They added that the Plateau pilot demonstrates how targeted, community-driven interventions delivered through existing primary healthcare structures can produce measurable gains, even in resource-constrained settings.
