FCTA unveils health projects to improve maternal health, clean air

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has launched the distribution of the ‘Renewed Hope Mother–Baby Kits Initiative’ and the ‘Abuja Breathe Fresh Air Project’, aimed at improving maternal health and household air quality.

FCT Minister of State, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, inaugurated the two projects on Wednesday at Asokoro District Hospital, Abuja, as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary.

Mahmoud explained that the initiatives, tagged “Wike Renewing Hope: One Baby at a Time, One Home at a Time,” were being implemented in collaboration with IHS Nigeria.

She described them as a holistic approach to healthcare and environmental sustainability, protecting mothers and newborns during childbirth while reducing the dangers of household air pollution.

“No woman should face childbirth without the tools and support she needs, and no child should begin life without adequate care,” she said.

According to her, the free Mother–Baby Kits contain essential medical supplies and consumables to support safe labour, delivery, and neonatal care across the FCT.

Highlighting the environmental aspect, Mahmoud described the Abuja Breathe Fresh Air Project as a “bold, forward-looking” initiative to reduce indoor air pollution in vulnerable households.

”Under the project, polluting fuels like firewood, charcoal, and kerosene will be replaced with smart, efficient Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cookers.

“This will help tackle one of the silent but deadly health risks in the home, respiratory diseases caused by smoke inhalation,” she added.

The minister also noted that the FCTA had strengthened its health workforce through better working conditions and consistent training.

She added that the administration had made significant investments in infrastructure, ranging from hospital renovations to the establishment of a Public Health Emergency Operations Centre.

On the occasion of Nigeria’s Independence Anniversary, Mahmoud called on citizens to recommit to “building an FCT where every home is healthier, every birth is safer, and every breath, cleaner.”

Earlier, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary, FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat, decried the country’s persistently high maternal and infant mortality rates.

“Too many women still die during childbirth, and too many newborns never see their first birthday,” she said.

Fasawe emphasised that one of the main causes of preventable deaths was the lack of access to clean, safe, and essential delivery supplies.

She said the Renewed Hope Mother–Baby Kit Initiative was developed to address that gap by providing basic but critical items for hygienic and safe deliveries.