By Chioma Obinna
MTN Group Foundation and the Gates Foundation on Tuesday launched an AI-enabled maternal health platform targeting 500,000 Nigerian women by 2030.
The Nigeria Maternal Health Multiplier will also equip 5,000 frontline health workers with digital tools to detect pregnancy and childbirth complications early and support 500 primary healthcare facilities to provide higher-quality maternal care.
The four-year partnership, announced yesterday in New York on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, comes with an initial investment of about $25 million from the two organisations between 2026 and 2030.
The initiative will provide AI-enabled, phone-based decision-support tools for mothers and health workers, affordable smartphones and mobile data, as well as improved connectivity at primary healthcare facilities, particularly in underserved communities.
The programme will build on the Federal Government’s Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, MAMII, being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Health under its Sector-Wide Approach, SWAp.
Nigeria accounts for nearly 30 per cent of maternal deaths globally, while only 59 per cent of women complete four or more antenatal care visits, according to the statement.
Speaking, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said the partnership would help translate digital innovation into services for Nigerians.
“For too long, the biggest barrier to improving service delivery in Nigeria, whether in health, agriculture, or education, has not been a lack of innovations, but a lack of focus on the foundational systems necessary to drive adoption,” Tijani said.
“Partnerships like this reflect the kind of collaboration we want to see more of in Nigeria, one that puts the country’s digital transformation to work for the people who need it most.”
Speaking, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said the initiative would strengthen existing health reforms.
“Strengthening primary healthcare and empowering the frontline health workers who deliver it are core to our health sector reforms,” Pate said.
“Partnerships that work with our existing health systems, rather than around them, are exactly what’s needed to reach mothers who are still falling through the cracks.”
Also, the MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Mupita, said the initiative would use technology to make maternal healthcare more accessible.
“The future of maternal health depends on ensuring that every mother, regardless of where she lives, can access the support she needs to make informed decisions throughout her journey,” Mupita said.
The Gates Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Mark Suzman, said AI could improve healthcare if its benefits reached underserved populations.
“AI has enormous potential to improve health, but only if its benefits reach the people who stand to gain the most,” Suzman said.
The partnership combines MTN’s connectivity, digital inclusion and device distribution capabilities with the Gates Foundation’s expertise in maternal, newborn and child health, digital health, responsible AI and evidence-based scale-up.
The organisations said the initial investment was also intended to attract additional funding and support expansion of the model into other markets.
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