Technical Advice Connect (TAConnect), in partnership with The African Centre of Excellence for Population Health and Policy (ACEPHAP), convened a three-day joint work planning meeting for the Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded EMBRACE Project from 12–14 March 2026 at Kano state, Northwest Nigeria, marking a critical step toward the coordinated rollout of maternal and newborn health interventions in Borno and Gombe States.
The EMBRACE Project: Enhancing Maternal and Baby Resilience through Access, Care, and Equity, is designed to reduce maternal and newborn mortality by strengthening health systems to deliver and sustain quality services across the continuum of care, particularly at primary and secondary levels.
The meeting brought together 36 participants from TAConnect and ACEPHAP country office and state teams to develop a harmonised, costed workplan and align on implementation priorities. In his opening remarks, TAConnect’s Technical Director, Olayiwola Jaiyeola, emphasized the importance of strong partner alignment in delivering measurable impact, particularly as Bloomberg Philanthropies expands its engagement in Nigeria’s health sector.
Deliberations throughout the workshop focused on translating evidence into action through a structured implementation approach that strengthens Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmONC) services using a hub-and-spoke model. State-level updates highlighted early progress, including stakeholder engagement, operational setup, and ongoing landscape assessments to guide targeted interventions in both Borno and Gombe.
A key outcome of the meeting was the development of a unified work plan, alongside agreement on shared operational systems, data management, and reporting structures to ensure coordinated delivery under a single project identity. As the EMBRACE Project moves into its co-creation and implementation phases, partners reaffirmed their commitment to driving sustainable improvements in maternal and newborn health outcomes, particularly in underserved and high-burden settings.
