Nigeria govment free C-section programme for poor pregnant women dey work?

Eighty-six women don benefit from di free caesarean section programme wey di federal govment of Nigeria declare for di University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), according to Dr. Iloabuchi Ephraim Onwe, wey be di head of department of di National Health Insurance Authority for di hospital.

Di govment for November 2024 bin announce di programme wey dem tok say go be for "poor and vulnerable" women so as to bring down di high number of mothers wey dey die for childbirth.

Dr. Onwe tell BBC News Pidgin say dem dey run di free C-section for dia Comprehensive Emergency Maternal Obstetrics and Neonatal Care (Cemonc) programme since February 2025.

Dis programme e say dey targeted at providing caesarean section for emergency cases for pregnant women in order to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates for Nigeria.

"After di signing of memorandum of understanding wit di HMO wey dey in charge of dis programme, we start dis programme for di first week of February 2025.

"Since dat time we don successfully manage 86 women wey dey eligible for dis programme and about 53 babies from our records," e tok.

Di modalities of implementing di programme according to Dr. Onwe dey come from di MOU dem get from di Federal Ministry of Health wey be di federal govment aspect, den di MOU dem get wit di Health Maintenance Organisation, dat na Leadway Health Maintenance Organisation wey dey interface with both di healthcare providers and di federal goment.

For Nigeria, di cost C-section dey vary from hospital to hospital, and anoda factor wey dey determine di price na di location. According to survey, di average cost na 250,000 ($164.21) and 300,000 naira ($197.05).

Verification to know if beneficiary dey poor

For Federal Medical Centre Lagos, authorities confam to di BBC News Pidgin say dem dey do di free C-section for pregnant women for di state.

Reliable source for di hospital say dem no dey announce am so dat pipo no go abuse and kill di programme.

Our investigation reveal say na eight pipo don enjoy di policy since di past two months.

Our source for di hospital say na only poor women dey qualified to enjoy di free C-section.

E tell us say dem get dia own ways of checking who go fit afford di cost of surgery and who no fit, say if afta dia checks and true true di pesin still no fit pay, dem go free am to go home witout paying.

Di standard cost of C-section for FMC Ebutte Metta Lagos na minimum of 148,000 naira ($97.21) and di patient go still purchase some materials dem need for di surgery.

Di hospital say dia standard na to care for di patient first and afta dat dem go collect moni. Di hospital say even bifor di programme, dem no dey ever send away patients sake of say dem no gree pay.

Meanwhile, Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital for Kano State, northwest Nigeria, tell BBC News Pidgin say dem don dey do free C-section for women since September 2024, under di health insurance programme wey di hospital get afta dem sign one memorandum.

Dr. Zainab Abdulaziz, wey be head of National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) for Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, tok say dem don already do free C-section for more dan 800 women wey get emergency case.

"We start dis operation since September 2024 under Health Insurance for Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, and up till now we don do more dan 800 free surgeries for women."

But she add say no be evri woman fit enjoy di program.

"Bifor we fit do di operation for anybodi, we gatz confam say na emergency she dey need, she no get money to pay, and she get National Identification Number (NIN).

''Once dem bring her for emergency, we go do di surgery free of charge, plus evri oda treatment wey follow afta," Dr. Abdulaziz tok.

Dr. Zainab yarn say once woman don deliver through CS and dem wan discharge am, dem go put her for insurance wey go make her and her pikin dey collect treatment and drugs free.

"Bifor we discharge any woman wey we operate, we go enrol her for insurance, so dat she and her pikin go dey receive free medical treatment and drugs," she tok.

Dr. Zainab explain say di NHIA programme wey di hospital get dey cover any emergency patient wey no fit pay, including drugs, dialysis, and any oda medical treatment wey dey cost plenty money.

One beneficiary, Balkisu Muntari, tell BBC News Pidgin say she dey di hospital now and she neva pay shishi since dem put am for di programme.

"Wen dem bring me come hospital, doctors find say I get complication wey no go allow me born normal.

"At first we pay some money to start di operation, but wen dem see say I don lose consciousness and I dey need urgent attention, dem carry me put for dis programme and since den we no pay anytin again.

"Till now as I dey for maternity ward, we no dey pay anytin, and dem dey take care of me and my baby free of charge," Muntari tok.

Anoda woman, Maryam Husaini, wey come all di way from Katsina afta she get problem for belle wen she born, still also tell BBC News Pidgin say since she reach Kano she never pay anytin.

"I born for our village for Katsina, but my stomach dey swell and I dey bleed.

"Wen dem no fit know wetin dey happun, dem carry us go Kano. For here dem do surgery and remove somtin wey dey inside my stomach.

"Since we come dis hospital, dem never collect any money from us. We dey tank God for dis relief wey we get," Husaini tok.

Nigeria wey be di most populous black nation dey witness 1,047 deaths out of evri 100,000 women. Di kontri na number one for kontris wey get di highest maternal mortality rate for di world.

Dem dey attribute most of di deaths to lack of access to C-sections. Dis na part of why Nigeria govment introduce di free C-section to help poor and vulnerable pregnant women.

Many pregnant women especially for rural areas for Nigeria dey unable to get emergency medical care, most times sake of di cost.

Some of di causes of maternal deaths include severe haemorrhage, high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia), unsafe abortions and obstructed or prolonged labour.

How pregnant woman fit benefit from di programme?

Dr. Onwe say getting di National Identification Number (NIN) na di basic requirement to access care under dis programme.

Di pregnant woman gatz get valid National Identification Number (NIN) from NIMC office. Sake of dis, NIMC Centre dey for UPTH to make accessibility easy for di women.

Dr. Onwe note say di programme no just dey for any woman as dem get scope of coverage wey be say na strictly for pregnant women:

Pregnant women wey fall under any of dis categories and come under emergency and get dia NIN na im fit benefit from dis programme.

"Dem no need to dey registered for antenatal with di hospital, na emergency cases. Once dem come in within 48 hours, dem must don get dia NIN. Na di NIN na im dey admit dem into di federal govment Cemonc programme," Dr. Onwe add.

Impact on maternal mortality

As Nigeria get record as di kontri with di highest rate of maternal morality rate for di world, dis programme get any impact since e begin?

Dr. Onwe say, "I fit confidently tell you say di impact dey significant, though dia fit no be any statistics at di moment, but from di experiences we don get and di lives we don save, we know say we don get positive impact on both di mother and di babies and pipo don testify to am.

"We still dey gada our statistics, so we fit come out with concrete figure to buttress am," e tok.

Di programme dey sustainable?

As di Cemonc programme dey totally free of charge, di question of sustainability dey rise but Dr. Onwe say e dey sustainable for di scope of women wey e dey cover but na for di federal govment to continue di good work.

E say now di govment dey do well but for di future if anoda govment come, e go good if dem sef key into wetin dis present federal govment dey do and no change or stop am.

"On our part, di programme dey sustainable as we ready to provide di needed services even if dem come for midnight, so far say dem fall under di criteria, e dey sustainable on our part. We also pray say di federal goment as dem dey do now e good, but for di future I no fit tok, na for federal govment to answer dat question."