……Abia’s Neonatal Deaths Fall To 7, Immunisation Climbs To 112%, Skilled Deliveries Reach 90%
…Lagos Logs 231 Neonatal Deaths Despite 100% Skilled Birth Attendance
Nigeria recorded 1,054 maternal deaths in the first quarter of 2026, up from 979 in the previous quarter. Neonatal deaths also increased from 1,666 to 2,264 in the same period.
The figures are contained in the Q1 2026 quarterly performance report of states, aggregated by the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) Coordination Office of the Federal Ministry of Health, under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII).
The report tracks maternal health, immunisation, malaria treatment, non-communicable disease detection and mortality reporting across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, using the District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2) and the Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) platform.
It also tracks states across key health indicators, including antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, family planning and neonatal mortality.
The report shows that national maternal deaths increased by 7.7 per cent between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. Neonatal deaths climbed 35.9 per cent, over the same period.
Skilled birth attendance fell slightly from 87 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 86 per cent in the first quarter of 2026. However, the proportion of pregnant women who completed at least four antenatal care visits increased from 48 per cent to 51 per cent during the quarter.
Amid the national rise in maternal deaths, Abia and Osun recorded the lowest maternal death toll in the country.
ABIA
Abia recorded one maternal death in Q1 2026, same as the 1 death it recorded in Q4 2025. Neonatal deaths in the state fell from 9 to 7 in the same period.
Abia’s fully immunised coverage rose from 69 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 112 per cent in Q1 2026. Skilled birth attendance climbed from 87% to 90%, above the national figure of 86%.
The scorecard calculated immunisation coverage against population-based denominators drawn from National Population Commission estimates rather than confirmed birth counts.
Abia’s ANC4/ANC1 ratio, which measures the continuity of maternal care (women who completed 4 antenatal visits after their first), rose from 25% to 37%. However, Penta 3 (third dose of the Pentavalent vaccine) coverage fell from 81% to 76%. New family planning acceptors among women of reproductive age also dropped from 10% to 8%.
The state’s hypertension detection rate fell from 39 to 32 new cases per 10,000 person years, and its diabetes detection rate fell from 13 to 11. Its National Health Management Information System (NHMIS) reporting timeliness score, which tracks whether facilities submit monthly data on schedule, rose from 96% to 97%.
In its 2026 budget, Abia allocated N152.4bn to health out of a N1.02tn total budget, according to BudgIT’s Health Financing in Nigeria report.
This put Abia among 9 states, alongside Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Ogun, Kwara, Nasarawa, Oyo and Taraba, that hit the 15% health financing benchmark set under the 2001 Abuja Declaration of African Union (AU) member states.
OSUN
Osun also recorded one maternal death in Q1 2026, down from 3 in Q4 2025. However, the state’s Neonatal deaths rose from 1 to 7 in the same period.
Osun’s skilled birth attendance rate stood at 42% in Q1 2026, up from 36% in Q4 2025 but still among the lowest in the country..
The state’s fully immunised coverage also rose from 59% to 60%. Its ANC4/ANC1 ratio fell from 61% to 59%. Its NHMIS reporting timeliness score reached 98%, among the highest recorded in the South-West zone.
Osun budgeted N31.94bn for health in 2025 out of a N427.75bn total budget and spent N22.67bn, a performance rate of 70.99%, according to BudgIT. Health spending accounted for 7.47% of the state’s total 2025 budget.
LAGOS
Lagos recorded 100% skilled birth attendance in Q1 2026, up from 97% in Q4 2025, and had the highest rate in the country.
However, the state logged 231 neonatal deaths in Q1 2026, up from 127 in Q4 2025. This represents the highest neonatal death count of any state in the report.
Maternal deaths in Lagos also rose from 26 to 50 in the same period.
The scorecard attributes the bulk of the state’s neonatal mortality reports to Lagos Island and Ikorodu local government areas.
The state’s fully immunised coverage fell from 62% to 57%, and Penta 3 coverage dropped from 71% to 64%. New family planning acceptors among women of reproductive age fell from 12% to 7%. Its ANC4/ANC1 ratio rose from 77% to 85%.
Lagos led the country in health spending in 2025 after disbursing N180.99bn out of a N216.71bn health budget from a N3.37tn total budget. The performance rate was 83.52%, according to BudgIT. The state’s 16.74 million residents put per capita health spending at N10,812, among the highest in the country.
OTHER STATES
New family planning acceptors among women of reproductive age fell 43.5% nationally in the first quarter of 2026, from 23% to 13%. Fully immunised coverage fell 22.3%, from 103% to 80%.
In the North-West, Kano’s maternal deaths rose from 88 to 124, and were concentrated in Bichi, Kano Municipal and Tarauni local government areas, according to the report. Kano’s ANC4/ANC1 ratio stood at 47% in Q1 2026.
In the North-East, Yobe’s maternal deaths rose from 61 to 75, representing the largest increase in the zone. In the North-Central zone, Kogi’s maternal deaths fell from 66 to 22, which represents the largest improvement in the zone.
Zamfara recorded the highest increase in neonatal deaths in the North-West, rising from 79 to 131. Gombe led the North-East, where neonatal deaths increased from 48 to 118. Ebonyi recorded the largest increase in the South-East, with neonatal deaths doubling from 32 to 64. Delta State recorded the biggest rise in maternal deaths in the South-South, increasing from six to 22.
