MamaBase: Saving the lives of women, babies
The life saver is here: ‘MamaBase’.
This medical initiative, under the auspices of Maternal and Reproductive Health Collective (MRHC), is a data-driven intervention that identifies and supports the most vulnerable, low income women from pregnancy to six weeks post-delivery in local governments in Lagos State.
Aside saving expectant mothers, MamaBase is also protecting the lives of babies.
The project, implemented between October 2023 and September 2024, has registered 7,883 pregnant women, facilitated 7,467 safe deliveries, and drastically reduced maternal mortality rates among participants.
Hitherto, women were dying in their thousands.
At least, close to 79,000 maternal deaths were recorded in the country in 2023. Pitiably, this represents about 29 per cent of the global statistics.
But with the coming of MamaBase, the good news is here for Nigerian families.
This medical intervention has drasticaly reduced the high maternal mortality in the country.
Piloted in Lagos in 2023 by this team of Nigerian doctors, scientists and public health experts at MRHC, good dramatic results are being achieved.
To tackle the challenge, a data-driven framework named M.I.L.E.S. (Mapping, Identifying, Linking, Educating, Supporting) was created to identify and support pregnant women in underserved communities. Using this framework and proprietary tools, the MamaBase team connected women to essential antenatal and delivery care and provided ongoing guidance and monitoring throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Since October 2023, the programme has enrolled 7,883 women in Lagos. Of these,
99.9% survived childbirth, a striking contrast to the national maternal mortality rate of 1,047 deaths per 100,000 live births.
It is also instructive to know that more than 80% of MamaBase participants delivered in health facilities with skilled birth attendants, and 60% completed four or more antenatal visits (an internationally recognised benchmark for quality maternal care).
The maternal mortality rate among MamaBase participants dropped to just 120 per 100,000 live births, nearly 10 times lower than the national average.
At a news conference in Lagos on Tuesday, MRHC Acting Executive Director, Dr. Olajumoke Oke, said: “By registering vulnerable pregnant women, linking them to primary health facilities, and providing free scans, tests and emergency care, we’ve shown that systemic change is possible even in resource-limited settings”.
Encouraged by the results, MRHC is expanding the programme to additional local government areas in Lagos.
It has also launched a larger-scale version in Kaduna State, one of Nigeria’s most affected regions, aiming to reach thousands of women by 2026.
Dr. Oke said MRHC is already in talks with Kaduna State Government, and has already met with stakeholders there.
She disclosed that the groundbreaking programme was aimed at improving maternal health outcomes.
Some key achievements, according to the organisers, included the enrolment of 7,883 women with 80 per cent of them accessing skilled maternal care at health facilities; 60 per cent attendance of ante-natal care by participants; emergency care support provided for 144 high-risk women, including coverage for life-saving caesarean sections; and 99.9 percent child survival rate for deliveries.
A participant, Mrs. K. Leger, said: “When complications arose, MamaBase covered my caesarean section at Harvey Road General Hospital.
“Without them, I don’t know how I would have survived.”
Another beneficiary of the initiative, D. Agape, stated happily: “They paid for my scans when I had no money—it made all the difference.”
The MamaBase initiative also includes: Community outreach and advocacy campaigns like: #WeMenForHer and #RunForHer; Partnerships with Corporations (Sterling One Foundation, I- Fitness), health stakeholders; and Data-driven policy making through maternal health registries and research.
According to Dr. Oke, the MamaBase report underscores the potential of targeted interventions to reverse Nigeria’s maternal health crisis, adding: “No woman should die giving life. With collaborative effort, we can make this a reality”.
The organisation’s Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Olufunmilola Owosho, said MRHC began full implementation of the MamaBase programme across the 20 local governments in 2023, with a plan to link 5,000 women to formal healthcare within 12 months and ensure that, at least, 80 per cent of them have access to maternal services at health facilities.
Owosho said by November 2024, the organisation had registered 7,883 pregnant women, adding that 7,473 babies were delivered through the MamaBase initiative.
She disclosed that through the initiative, emergency care and support were given to 144 women.
She called for partnership and collaboration with the various community resources in the course of expanding the scope of the project.
Highlighting the challenges encountered during project implementation, she said many women lack health insurance and birth plan while lack of emergency transport facilities for women in labour and some social-cultural factors were impediments.
She disclosed that the Phase II of the project, which would be a more streamlined process, would be extended to Kaduna State, adding that it would also focus on disadvantaged communities.
The Senior Programme Manager (Research), Dr. Oluwatosin Laleye, lamented that more pregnant women die on a daily basis.
Laleye said the tragedies are driven by factors such as bleeding, infections, hypertension disorders, poverty and inequality, lack of education and socio-cultural factors.
She said: “Pregnant women shun primary health care because of the attitude of health workers. They also refuse to go to the health centre because of medical costs.”
She said MRHC intervened to tackle these challenges through a detailed programme encompassing education and training of birth attendants, health education for pregnant women, home visits by community health workers, Telehealth messages, research and advocacy.
The Senior Data Manager at MRHC, Olalekan Olagunju, said 79 per cent of the targeted women delivered safely, stressing that the women also expressed satisfaction with the services rendered by the organisation.
The Research/Project Coordinator, Fehintoluwa Aluko, said the health seeking behaviour of pregnant women has to be improved through education, enlightenment and support.
A representative of a development partner, David Lawal of Sterling One Foundation, urged public spirited individuals and corporate bodies to respond to MRHC’s call for action in the interest of public welfare.
A Permanent Secretary from the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Abimbola Mabogunje, lauded the project, saying it has boosted maternal and reproductive health of targeted beneficiaries.
In collaboration with the Lagos State Government and its agencies, MRHC, in 2023 and 2024, trained 284 PHC doctors and 69 nurses on Emergency Obstetrics Care (EMOC) respectively
It also trained 884 health care workers at the Comprehensive PHCs on Respectful Maternal Care in 2023 and another 1,078 in 2024.
These interventions strengthen health systems by ensuring high quality, and responsive care tailored to the needs of women in their communities.
Dr. Oke added: “By registering vulnerable pregnant women, linking them to primary health facilities, and providing free scans, tests, and emergency care, we’ve shown that systemic change is possible even in resource-limited settings”.
Currently, MRHC is also supporting the most vulnerable, low income women from pregnancy to six weeks post-delivery in Epe, Alimoso, Ibeju-Lekki, Ikorodu, Mushin, Ajeromi, Ojo, Amuwo-Odofin, Kosofe, Agege, Apapa and Eti-Osa.
At the press conference held at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Ikeja, were government officials, health practitioners, researchers, development partners and medical students.
