In recognition of their exceptional leadership and dedication to advancing maternal, newborn, and child health interventions, Chioma Umeha, chairperson, Lagos State Media Advocacy Working Group, and 13 others have been inaugurated as Lagos State’s AIM-MNCNH Innovations Champions.
The ceremony, organised by the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN) in collaboration with the Lagos State Government and consortium of development partners, also honoured one super champion.
In her welcome address, Chairman, MWAN Lagos State Chapter, Dr Funmi Ige, announced the inauguration of the 14 Advocates and Implementation of Maternal, Newborn, Child Nutrition and Health (AIM-MNCNH) Innovations Champions and one Super Champion.
The AIM-MNCNH Innovations Champions are a selected number of individuals chosen for their commitment, influence, and their ability to lead the advancement of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) interventions in their respective states across the country, Ige said.
The Medical Women Association boss stressed that their role is to lead advocacy towards combating maternal deaths particularly those resulting from postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide.
Ige emphasised that “almost every day, one woman somewhere in Nigeria dies from this fatal haemorrhage,” urging both health professionals and the wider public to act collectively.
Umeha, who is also the health editor at Independent Newspapers, joins a distinguished group of advocates selected for their leadership, influence, and commitment to maternal and child health issues in Nigeria.
Ige affirmed that the project which is going on in 16 states focuses on reducing maternal deaths through strategic community engagement is championed by the Africa Centre of Excellence for Population Health and Policy (ACEPHAP), Bayero University Kano, in collaboration with a consortium of four partners.
Chioma Umeha, who is both the health editor, Independent Newspapers and chairperson, Lagos State Media Advocacy Working Group, while Dr Funmi Ige, Lagos State president, Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN) (left), after her inauguration as Advocacy and Implementation of Maternal, Newborn, Child Nutrition and Health (AIM-MNCNH) Innovations Champion and others watch.
“These include, ACE Network in Africa, Pathfinder International, Nigeria, Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN), and Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI).
“The AIM-MNCNH were carefully selected based on their unwavering commitment, strategic influence, and proven leadership in advancing MNCH interventions within their field,” Ige stressed.
Dr Kemi Ogunyemi, special adviser on health to Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu, who was the special guest at the inauguration, described the AIM-MNCNH Innovations project as a bold assertion of local ownership following recent US cuts to international health funding.
Reflecting on the withdrawal of American aid, Ogunyemi paid tribute to ongoing support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Clinton Health Initiative, but emphasised that Lagos—and Nigeria as a whole—can no longer afford to rely solely on foreign donor partners. “This must be our priority. We are not waiting for international aid,” she said.
Central to the strategy is a renewed focus on family planning. Ogunyemi noted that preventing unplanned and adolescent pregnancies is inseparable from reducing maternal mortality. She also highlighted the critical—yet often overlooked—role of men in consent for contraception, insisting that engaging male partners is essential if women are to access life-saving reproductive healthcare.
The newly appointed advocacy champions will spearhead awareness campaigns in their communities, engage local primary-healthcare leaders, and gather grassroots data to inform policy. Ogunyemi stressed that Governor Sanwo-olu expects rigorous justification for budgetary requests, with clear metrics on impact.
Partnership remains vital. Champions will collaborate regularly with government ministries, the Gates Foundation and other stakeholders to avoid duplication, share best practice and ensure resources target underserved areas.
Ogunyemi concluded that the inauguration represents “a significant step towards reducing maternal, newborn and infant deaths in Lagos” and urged champions to view themselves as integral policymakers. She pledged full government backing—financial, logistical and political—and called on them to hold both practitioners and policy-makers to account as Lagos strives to save mothers’ lives.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Folasade Oludara, director of reproductive health and family planning, lauded the special adviser’s vigorous advocacy, which has secured vital—even modest—funding for the state’s maternal health programmes. “Since she assumed office, we have never had it better,” she said.
Oludara outlined a multi-pronged approach: emphasising adolescent health, empowering the girl child and promoting family planning so that young women can decide when—and how many—children to have.
Oludara also highlighted Lagos’s leading national standing in maternal and child health indices, crediting a proactive administration that regards these metrics as key indicators of development. Complementing national data, an in-house nutritional survey has pinpointed stunting hotspots. “By our next survey in two to three years, we expect to see a marked change,” she concluded.
Dr Ibitoye Olufemi, of Pathfinder International, emphasised the project’s focus on policy-oriented research and evidence-led advocacy to advance women’s health and expedite rollout of proven MNCH innovations. “This initiative addresses the urgent need to translate research into practice at scale,” he said.
At the heart of the scheme are the newly appointed MNCH Innovations Champions—individuals selected for their commitment, influence and capacity to lead state-level advocacy. These Champions will drive adoption of cutting-edge health solutions to curb maternal and child mortality. Olufemi noted they will “bridge gaps between government, healthcare providers and communities, ensuring effective interventions reach every mother and child.” The initiative aims to reshape maternal health outcomes across Nigeria.
Similarly, Oluyemi Abodunri, Technical advisor at the Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI), speaking at the inauguration, urged the Champions to leverage forthcoming “smart and advocacy” training, and to wield newly supplied toolkits in lobbying policymakers.
Abodunri commended the Champions’ “serious commitment” to maternal, newborn and child health and insisted that evidence-based advocacy remains vital if Nigeria is to scale interventions that save women and children.
Also, among the AIM-MNCNH champions are Folasade Oludara, director of reproductive health and family planning; Omowunmi Bakare, associate professor of community health, LASUTH/LASUCOM and Josephat Ugochukwu Ihitegbulum, chairman of the Ward Development Committee.
Others are Ashiru Ajoke, chairperson of the Interfaith Public Health Advocacy Group and Khadijat Ibrahim, programmes head of SIID Africa Initiative for Youth Development.
The rest are Hassan Rasheedat, chairperson of the Advocacy Committee, Lagos State Accountability Mechanism on Maternal and Newborn Child Health (LASAM); Abiodun Oroja, chairperson of the Ward Health Committee and Adekoya Abiola, Community Health Advocate, PHSAI, among others.
