More than 63,000 women and 5,300 newborns have received emergency obstetric and neonatal services through a National Health Insurance Authority financing programme, the agency has said.
The Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care programme was introduced about 18 months ago to reduce maternal and newborn deaths by providing free emergency treatment to vulnerable pregnant women.
Services include caesarean sections and other life-saving interventions that might otherwise be unaffordable for families facing medical emergencies.
NHIA said more than 250 health facilities across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory were currently participating in the programme.
Additional facilities have been approved and are being activated as the government seeks to expand access in both urban and rural communities.
The authority said the programme was intended to reduce catastrophic out-of-pocket spending at the point of emergency care.
It described the beneficiary figures as evidence that the policy had moved beyond announcement into service delivery.
The Federal Government has presented the programme as part of its wider strategy for improving universal health coverage and reducing preventable maternal and neonatal deaths.
NHIA said continued expansion would depend on bringing more accredited hospitals into the network and ensuring that participating facilities can provide the required surgical and emergency services.
The agency said the long-term goal was to ensure that inability to pay did not determine whether a woman or newborn survived an obstetric emergency.
