In a goodwill message on behalf of the Honourable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, the Federal Ministry of Health celebrated TAConnect’s five years of contribution to maternal survival, workforce capacity, and the national reform agenda.
Behind every statistic in Nigeria’s maternal health agenda is a woman whose pregnancy should end in joy, not tragedy. That conviction ran through the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s goodwill message at TAConnect’s fifth anniversary, delivered on behalf of the Honourable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, which framed the occasion as “not only a celebration of years of dedication and collaboration, but an opportunity to reflect on lessons learned and reaffirm our collective commitment to improving health outcomes for Nigerians.”
Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ozi, representing the Minister, positioned TAConnect’s work squarely within the government’s Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, an initiative built on a simple but deliberate reframing: health, in Nigeria’s current reform agenda, is to be treated not as a social expenditure but as a strategic national investment. The initiative’s priorities- stronger governance, improved service delivery, investment in human resources for health, better health information systems, local ownership, and greater efficiency- were described as closely aligned with the work TAConnect has supported over the past five years.
The message paid tribute to TAConnect’s support for Group Antenatal Care, which has improved the quality of maternal health care through a client-centred model that encourages peer learning, continuity of care, better provider-client interaction, and greater involvement of pregnant women in their own health decisions. As Nigeria intensifies efforts to improve maternal and newborn survival through the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), such approaches, the Ministry noted, become increasingly important, directly supporting the national drive toward safer pregnancy and childbirth.
Equally commended were TAConnect’s sustained investment in capacity building for frontline health workers (“no health system can deliver sustainable outcomes without a competent, motivated and supported health workforce”), its support for the development and review of national maternal health guidelines, and its contribution to child immunization and primary health care strengthening.
The Ministry then set out the collective priorities ahead: strengthening primary healthcare and integrated service delivery; accelerating the reduction of maternal mortality through evidence-based interventions; improving quality of care at all levels; building and retaining a skilled workforce; expanding access to life-saving maternal and child health services; institutionalizing innovations with measurable impact; strengthening accountability and data use; and mobilizing sustainable domestic and partner financing.
“The challenge before us is not simply to sustain programmes, but to sustain change,” the message concluded, congratulating TAConnect and wishing it a next chapter of “greater innovation, stronger partnership and more sustainable impact.”
