The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has announced that it expanded child health services in Kano by launching the neonatal component of its Comprehensive Emergency Obstetrics and Neonatal Care (CEmONC) programme.
The agency said in Abuja on Monday that the unveiling took place at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), where it also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the facility.
According to NHIA, the initiative aims to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths, strengthen healthcare delivery and provide continuous care from pregnancy to child survival, noting that Nigeria still records about 82,000 maternal and 262,000 neonatal deaths annually.
NHIA’s Director-General, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, represented by Dr Sikiru Salaudeen, explained that the neonatal package builds on the maternal component already operating in more than 200 facilities nationwide, which has benefitted over 14,000 women, with Kano contributing about 40 per cent.
He said the new intervention would address birth asphyxia, neonatal sepsis, jaundice and acute surgical emergencies, while external verifiers will track accountability.
He added that four hospitals in Kano—AKTH, Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Mohammed Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital and Khalifah Shiek Isiyaka Rabiu Paediatric Hospital—were selected for the pilot phase.
Prof. Abdurahman Suwaid, who represented AKTH’s Chief Medical Director, reported that the hospital had treated 972 women under the maternal arm, making it the largest NHIA service provider in the country.
The Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, who attended the MoU signing, pledged that the state government would continue to back maternal and child health programmes.