By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
To mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day Anniversary, the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, distributed at least 250 Baby Kits and 500 Gas cookers and cylinders to pregnant women in the territory.
The FCT Baby Kit, ( One Baby at a Time) health kits and the Project Breath Clean Air Intitiative Abuja launched on Wednesday at the Asokoro District Hospital, Abuja, is aimed reducing maternal and newborn mortality, and environmental pollution in households.
The FCT Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, who officially launched the Baby Kit and Abuja Clean- Air programmes said that the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, aims to ensure that no woman faced the risks of childbirth without adequate medical support and that no child began life without proper care.
The Mother–Baby Kit initiative and the Abuja Breathe Fresh Air Project represent a holistic vision of health, protecting mothers and newborns during delivery as well as safeguarding families from respiratory diseases caused by smoke inhalation in homes, Mahmoud explained.
According to her, the Baby Kits contain essential medical items and consumables that will provide support for safe labour, delivery, and neonatal care for women and babies across the FCT.
“No woman should face childbirth without the tools and support she needs, and no child should begin life without adequate care. These kits reflect our deep commitment to maternal and child health and to ensuring that every mother and baby are given the best start possible,” she said.
The minister further described the Abuja Breathe Fresh Air Project as a bold, forward-looking intervention designed to reduce indoor air pollution in vulnerable households.
The minister noted that the dual programmes are a part of the broad transformation of the FCT under the Renewed Hope Agenda, and reaffirmed that the government’s investment in both immediate healthcare needs and long-term environmental sustainability was non-negotiable.
She used the opportunity of Nigeria’s 65th independence celebration to call on residents to recommit themselves to building an FCT “where every home is healthier, every birth is safer, and every breath is cleaner.”
Earlier in her remarks, the Mandate Secretary of the FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, said the Administration has adopted a zero tolerance policy toward maternal and child mortality in the territory.
She decried the scenario where women continued to die from preventable complications of childbirth.
“One major reason for these preventable deaths is the lack of access to clean, safe, and essential supplies during delivery.”
“The Renewed Hope Mother–Baby Kit initiative is designed to bridge that gap. Each kit contains basic but critical items needed to ensure a hygienic and safe delivery both for the mother and the child,” Fasawe stated.
She encouraged expectant mothers to register for antenatal care and assured them that the Administration would sustain the programme to make childbirth safer for all women across the territory.
Fasawe also disclosed that the Mother–Baby Kits and Gas cookers will be distributed free of charge to pregnant women across the six area councils under the clean air project.
She said that the slogans of the initiatives capture their direct impact on families, with the baby kits themed “Renewing Hope, One Baby at a Time” and the Abuja Breathe Fresh Air Project themed “Renewing Hope, One Home at a Time.”
According to Fasawe, both programmes were being implemented with IHS to give practical expression to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and FCT Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike.
She noted that the administration under Wike’s leadership is committed to giving strategic health interventions, particularly to women, children, and individuals in rural communities.
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