Technology, AI Will Accelerate Progress Toward 2030 Health Targets — Stakeholders

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and health advocates have called for stronger political commitment, increased financing, coordinated action and the use of technology to accelerate Nigeria's progress toward its 2030 health targets.

The call was made on Friday in Abuja at a meeting on the implementation of the 2026/2027 Collaborative Advocacy Action Plan (CAAP), convened by the Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN) with support from the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH).

The CAAP is part of PMNCH's partner-led approach to strengthening collective advocacy and accountability around commitments on women's, children's and adolescents' health, including maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health. In Nigeria, AHBN is coordinating the 2026/2027 CAAP, which aims to strengthen advocacy coalitions, influence decision-makers, improve accountability and support the implementation of agreed national health commitments.

Speaking at the meeting, Dr Amina Dorayi, Regional Portfolio Director for Western Central Africa and Country Director of Pathfinder International Nigeria, said technology—including Artificial Intelligence (AI)—could help accelerate progress toward the 2030 targets. She said achieving the goal of "every woman, every newborn, everywhere" requires deliberate investment, effective implementation and collaboration among policymakers, healthcare providers, development partners and communities.

"Every pregnancy is safe, every delivery is safe, every newborn is healthy, every mother that has just given birth is healthy, irrespective of where she has delivered or where they live," she said.

She stressed that resources must be deliberately directed toward ensuring health workers, medicines, infrastructure and essential services are available, particularly in rural and underserved communities. Drawing lessons from the implementation of the Maternal and Newborn Health Acceleration Plan, she identified collaboration and accountability as key, stressing that no single government or organisation could tackle maternal deaths alone. She called for stronger accountability in the use of health-sector resources, urging stakeholders to ensure funds allocated for women and children are deployed for their intended purposes.

Dorayi also urged government to increase investment in primary healthcare centres and ensure federal reforms are effectively implemented at state and local government levels. "It is not all about treatment; it is also about prevention. We need to also invest in health promotion and whatever it takes to ensure that women take responsibility for their health," she said.

Also speaking, Mrs Khadija Bobboi, AHBN's focal point on CAAP implementation and health security in Nigeria, said the initiative brings government and civil society organisations together to advance the health of women, children and adolescents. She said the CAAP, now in its second year in Nigeria, focuses on health financing, collaboration, adolescent health and wellbeing, and implementation of the Maternal and Newborn Health Acceleration Plan.

She said the meeting would also support validation of the RMNCAH+N Budget Accountability Scorecard and five advocacy and policy briefs covering family planning, health financing and adolescent health, noting that the materials would provide evidence for advocacy engagements with government, parliamentarians, development partners, the media and other stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Family Planning, Dr Ejike Oji, attributed Nigeria's persistently high maternal and newborn mortality to inadequate implementation of existing policies and insufficient leadership commitment. "I will say it is the willpower. If our leaders agree that Nigeria should be a place where no woman should die, it will happen," he said.

He noted that Nigeria has some of the strongest maternal and reproductive health policies and guidelines in Africa but has struggled to translate them into measurable results. He called for greater attention to the "last mile" of healthcare delivery—identifying facilities and communities recording high rates of maternal and newborn deaths and concentrating resources there—arguing that successful interventions in high-burden facilities could offer lessons for wider implementation nationwide. He also urged CSOs to work together and speak with one voice when engaging policymakers, saying coordinated advocacy would reduce duplication and make engagement more effective.

The CAAP meeting also provided a platform for partners to review the Maternal and Newborn Health Acceleration Plan, identify implementation gaps and agree on priority areas for joint advocacy and accountability. Participants reviewed existing advocacy materials, identified gaps, strengthened coalition coordination and agreed on practical mechanisms for joint action to improve health outcomes.

The CAAP ultimately seeks to strengthen collective advocacy and accountability around national priorities in maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and adolescent wellbeing.