The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has expanded its Comprehensive Emergency Obstetrics and Neonatal Care (CEmONC) programme with the introduction of neonatal services in Kano State.
The scheme was formally launched with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Authority and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), witnessed by the Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf. Three other state-owned facilities Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Mohammed Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital, and Khalifah Shiek Isiyaka Rabiu Paediatric Hospital were also enrolled.
NHIA Director-General, Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, represented by the Director of Informal Sector Department, Dr. Sikiru Salaudeen, said the neonatal component builds on the successes of the maternal arm of the programme.
According to him in a statement by
Emmanuel Ononokpono, Acting Director of Media and Public Relations at NHIA, said the move reflects the Authority’s commitment to reducing maternal and child mortality and expanding access to quality healthcare for vulnerable groups.
He noted that, more than 200 facilities nationwide are already implementing the maternal component, with over 14,000 women treated 40 percent of them from Kano.
Dr. Salaudeen explained that the neonatal coverage includes birth asphyxia, neonatal sepsis, jaundice, and acute surgical emergencies. To ensure transparency, he said independent external verifiers have been engaged to monitor the initiative.
Commending the programme, Professor Abdurahman Suwaid, Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee at AKTH, disclosed that 972 women have already benefitted from the maternal programme in the hospital, making it the largest NHIA beneficiary facility nationwide.
