Health
Enhancing Maternal Survival by Committing to Agreed Global Health Policies
By Isaac Oriafo Ejakhegbe
“Maternal health and wellbeing must remain a central goal, an investment priority in the sustainable development to ensure that progress continues and accelerates. Also, indigenous government must see that they play their part to agreed health policies for which we pledge commitment.”— Gynecologist in Benin City, Nigeria
The year 2015, which once seemed far off, has now passed.
With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted and the 2015 Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference and 2016 Women Deliver Conference behind us, the time is now to mobilize global and country-level commitment for ending preventable maternal mortality, including commitments to newborn, sexual and reproductive health.
Worldwide, the greatest disparities among human development indicators are in maternal mortality rates between high-income and low- and middle-income countries. The highest maternal mortality levels are found in Africa and Asia. In fact, in India, a woman dies of childbirth every 8 minutes, and Nigeria loses 145 women of childbearing age every single day.
Across many countries there have been short- and long-term policies to achieve tangible reductions of maternal deaths.
There is, of course, nothing wrong in expressing short- or medium-term health policy goals, or even far-reaching objectives to be achieved over a slated period of time. There is, however, in retrospect, a clear historic trend over nearly two decades that, despite progress, long-term maternal health policies have not fully attained success in the sub regions of many countries, leaving deep inequity not only between, but also within countries.
Stakeholders and country-level government should act early and sustain the zeal for maternal, newborn and reproductive health and rights ignited by the SDGs, since quality health care that reaches women on time could avert most of these deaths.
In 1977, “Health for all by the year 2000” was the well-known slogan at the estimable initiative of Alma Ata. Nearly 20 years later at the famous International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt, delegates from 179 countries agreed that every country must reduce maternal mortality by half by the year 2000.
Despite these well-intentioned, yet lofty goals, the turn of the century passed with the beating hearts of childbearing women continuing to reach an idle stop every day. Millennium Development Goal 5 added upon Alma Ata and ICPD and enhanced the focus on efforts to decrease maternal mortality, with an even loftier goal to decrease 1990 maternal mortality ratios by three quarters by 2015.
Much of the progress that contributed to a 45% decrease in maternal mortality from 1990 to 2013 was the result of accelerated gain since 2000 and yet many of the countries in Africa and Asia were not able to achieve the benchmark target by the slated year 2015.
The dawn of the SDGs is a new era.
While the targets for maternal and newborn health are laudable, and could be achieved across the globe over the next 15 years, it is critical that local and national governments in developing nations act vigorously and sustain commitment to budget allocation and program implementation for quality maternal health care services within a global framework.
Isaac Oriafo Ejakhegbe is a Women Deliver Young Leader from Nigeria. He works in the nonprofit sector, with a focus on health promotion, maternal and child health, gender equality and climate change. Among others, he is passionate about civil engagement and health reporting of the SDGs and has written works in HIV, child labour, girls education, and climate change. He can be reached via email and Twitter.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Lagos State government has kicked off an initiative to ensure that every newborn is screened for Sickle Cell Disease within 48 to 72 hours after birth using a simple heel-prick test.
It was gathered that babies identified as being at risk will immediately be placed on preventive care while awaiting confirmatory testing.
The Head of the Haematology Department at the Alimosho General Hospital, Dr Olubukola Orolu, revealed that an estimated 150,000 babies are born annually with Sickle Cell Disease in Nigeria, giving the country one of the highest SCD burdens globally.
She, however, applauded the Lagos State Government and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) for introducing the state-wide newborn screening programme, describing it as a major step towards reducing childhood deaths associated with the disease.
The commencement of this scheme coincides with the 2026 World Sickle Cell Day, themed Young Voices Rising for Sickle Cell Disease – Closing the Survival Gap: Equity in Sickle Cell Disease.
It highlights the importance of listening to the experiences and aspirations of young people living with Sickle Cell Disease.
Mrs Orolu noted that SCD warriors are increasingly breaking barriers as advocates, leaders, students and change-makers, adding that their voices have continued to reshape the narrative through advocacy for equitable, patient-centred healthcare, self-care and experience sharing.
She, therefore, called for equal access to quality healthcare, survival opportunities and dignity for everyone living with Sickle Cell Disease.
Also commenting, the chief executive of Alimosho General Hospital, Dr Akinyele Akinlade, described Sickle Cell Disease as an inherited blood disorder that is not contagious, noting that individuals living with the condition are more susceptible to infections.
He advised SCD warriors to stay well hydrated, avoid stress, and protect themselves from extreme cold or heat, as these are common triggers of sickle cell crises, adding that these preventive measures can significantly reduce the frequency and severity of crises.
One of the participants, Ms Borokini Zainab, an SCD warrior and student nurse, expressed appreciation to the organisers for the enlightenment programme.
Sharing her personal journey, she spoke about the challenges of balancing recurrent pain crises with her academic pursuits and personal life. Despite moments of frustration, she encouraged fellow warriors not to lose hope.
“Don’t let sickle cell put you down. Be encouraged from within. Don’t let your dreams be shattered because of this,” she said, adding that her personal experience with Sickle Cell Disease inspired her to pursue a career in nursing so she could support others living with the condition.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A 12-week health-tech incubation programme tailored for early-stage founders in Nigeria has been introduced by an innovation and venture-building platform, Evon Labs.
This initiative, known as HealthX Catalyst, will help participants to create scalable, investable solutions for Africa’s urgent healthcare issues.
The programme is underway, with 12 selected founders nearing the final weeks of intensive incubation, ending with a Demo Day on June 24, 2026, at the UNDP innovation centre in Lagos, where the small business owners will present their solutions to an audience of investors, healthcare leaders, development organisations, and technology partners.
The initiative selects early-stage healthcare founders and immerses them in a structured 12-week development process. Throughout this period, participants receive personalised and group mentorship from seasoned professionals across the healthcare, technology, and business sectors.
They also receive structured support for startup development, including refining business models, developing value propositions, and validating markets.
Additionally, participants gain access to a network of healthcare practitioners, sector experts, and industry leaders, along with targeted investment-readiness assistance to prepare them to engage with investors and strategic partners after the programme.
The result is a cohort of founders who move through the programme not simply with a refined pitch, but with a validated business model, a stronger professional network, and a clear pathway to growth.
To accelerate the most promising solutions beyond the programme, monetary grants will be awarded to the top three founders to support product development, pilot implementation, market validation, and early-stage scaling.
It was learned that HealthX Catalyst was developed in response to a structural gap in the African health-tech ecosystem.
Across the continent, a growing number of entrepreneurs are building solutions to healthcare problems from access and diagnostics to service delivery and health data infrastructure. Yet many of these early-stage ideas fail to progress beyond concept, not for lack of vision, but for lack of structured support: mentorship, startup development frameworks, industry access, and early-stage funding pathways. HealthX Catalyst was built to provide exactly that.
“Africa does not have a shortage of healthcare innovators. What it has lacked is the infrastructure to turn its ideas into sustainable businesses. HealthX Catalyst is that infrastructure, a serious, structured programme designed to take founders from early-stage ideas to investable startups.
“What we are seeing from this first cohort is exactly what we set out to create: founders who are not just building products, but building businesses that can scale and create lasting impact,” the founder of Evon Labs, Ms Isioma Udeozo, said of the unveiling of HealthX Catalyst.
The partners of the programme are the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Odua Investment Company Limited (OICL), Washington University of St Louis, Missouri, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), and Brooks Insights.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The sum of $250,000 in humanitarian funding is to be provided by Binance to support the frontline response to the ongoing Ebola disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
The cryptocurrency exchange said the funds would be used to enable rapid response in high-risk and underserved areas, where access to healthcare infrastructure, protective resources, and timely public health information remains limited.
The money will be shared equally between the Uganda Red Cross Society and Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), supporting urgent interventions in affected and high-risk communities.
Binance’s contribution will help strengthen emergency medical care and treatment, community awareness and prevention campaigns, contact tracing and containment support, and the provision of sanitation supplies and protective equipment for frontline workers.
By supporting both immediate response activities and preventative education, Binance aims to contribute to reducing transmission and strengthening community resilience.
“Communities across Africa continue to show extraordinary resilience in the face of complex challenges, but frontline responders should not have to face crises like this alone,” the co-chief executive of Binance, Mr Richard Teng, said.
“The teams working to contain the Ebola disease outbreak are delivering vital, life-saving support under incredibly difficult conditions.
“We are proud to support both the Uganda Red Cross Society and Doctors Without Borders as they work to protect vulnerable populations, strengthen local response efforts, and deliver urgent care where it is needed most,” he added.
Also commenting, the Secretary General for the Uganda Red Cross Society, Mr Robert Kwesiga, said, “Strong partnerships are essential during public health emergencies since we are not able to manage the outbreak alone.
“The support from Binance comes in so timely and handy, and will help us respond more rapidly, reach more at-risk communities, and reinforce the frontline services needed to help contain the outbreak and save lives.”
The MSF Emergency Programme Manager, Trish Newport, while speaking on the initiative, said, “The number of cases and deaths we are seeing in such a short timeframe, combined with the spread across several health zones and now across the border, is extremely concerning. In Ituri, many people already struggle to access healthcare and live with ongoing insecurity, making rapid action critical to prevent the outbreak from escalating further.”
Caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, this Ebola disease outbreak has placed acute pressure on already fragile health systems in eastern DRC and the wider region.
Local authorities, international agencies, and humanitarian organisations are racing to contain it and protect affected communities.
Binance’s support is intended to reinforce these efforts at a critical moment. It reflects the company’s broader commitment to supporting communities across Africa through programmes focused on education, financial inclusion, digital skills development, and community empowerment.
In this case, Binance is extending that commitment to urgent humanitarian and public health needs by working alongside trusted organisations with deep frontline expertise.
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