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The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has launched two initiatives- the Mother–Baby Kit Project and the Project Breathe Clean Air-Abuja- to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths and tackle the dangers of household air pollution.
Speaking at the launch of the projects in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Mahmoud, said no woman should face childbirth without the tools and support she needs, and no child should begin life without adequate care.
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According to her, the initiatives reflect a holistic approach to improving the well-being of families in the FCT by addressing maternal and neonatal risks on one hand, and the dangers of household air pollution on the other.
“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 is given the best start possible,” she said.
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The projects
The Mother–Baby Kit Project the tagged “Renewing Hope: One Baby at a Time” is designed to provide pregnant women with essential delivery items that can help ensure safe childbirth.
While the Project Breathe Clean Air-Abuja, tagged Renewing Hope: One Home at a Time, focuses on reducing indoor and outdoor air pollution by encouraging households to switch from firewood, charcoal and kerosene to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking.
The Project Breathe clean air-Abuja was carried out in partnership with IHS Nigeria.
Ms Mahmoud said the Project Breathe Clean Air-Abuja is a bold, forward-looking initiative to reduce air pollution in vulnerable households.
She explained that by replacing polluting fuels such as firewood, charcoal, and kerosene with smart, efficient Liquefied Petroleum Gas cookers, the administration is addressing one of the silent but deadly health risks in our homes: respiratory disease caused by smoke inhalation.
“This programme will also reduce harmful household emissions, cut deforestation, and advance Nigeria’s clean energy transition,” she said.
“Beyond protecting health, it contributes directly to our nation’s climate commitments and strengthens our reputation as a leader in sustainable urban living.”
The Minister said the initiatives form part of a broader transformation under the Renewed Hope Agenda, which in the last two years has delivered major health gains in the FCT—from new oxygen plants and a Vesico-Vaginal Fistula Centre to free medical missions, surpassing national screening targets, and expanding health insurance coverage for the vulnerable.
She added that workforce training, better conditions of service, and infrastructure upgrades, including renovated hospitals and a Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, have further strengthened efficiency and resilience in the sector.
“Together, these projects represent a holistic vision of health: protecting mothers and newborns during childbirth while safeguarding families from the dangers of household air pollution,” she said.
Baby kits, gas cylinders
At the launch, the FCTA distributed free mother-baby kits and Liquefied Petroleum Gas cylinders to women in the territory.
Ms Mahmoud said the free kits will support safe labour, delivery, and neonatal care for women and babies across the FCT.
Each kit includes a maternity gown, baby suit, sanitary pads, a solar lantern, baby shawl, sponge, towel, plate and spoon, and baby diapers.
In her remarks, the Mandate Secretary of the FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat (HSES), Adedolapo Fasawe, noted that providing these kits free of charge, particularly to vulnerable and underserved women in rural and peri-urban communities, helps remove a major barrier to safe motherhood.
Ms Fasawe said this initiative is in line with the broader goals of the federal government’s health sector reforms, particularly under the Universal Health Coverage framework.
She noted that it also aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal Three: ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages.’
“Today, we are all gathered to renew hope in accordance with this goal, ‘One baby at a time.’ The FCT Administration, under the visionary leadership of the Minister, Nyesom Wike, is committed to investing in strategic health interventions that have a direct impact on the lives of our people,” she said.
She said today’s launch is just one step in a larger strategy to strengthen maternal and child healthcare services across all six area councils of the FCT.
She expressed gratitude to development partners, NGOs, health workers, and community leaders for their support, while commending frontline providers as the true heroes bringing compassion and dedication to the initiative.
She reassured mothers that their health and safety matter, urging pregnant women to use antenatal services and safe delivery facilities.
Prioritising pregnant women
The Permanent Secretary of FCT HSES, Baba-Gana Adam, highlighted the day’s event as a three-in-one people-oriented intervention—distribution of baby kits, free cooking gas, and enrollment of pregnant women into the health insurance scheme in the territory.
Mr Gana Adam said over 250 baby kits containing newborn essentials and 500 cooking gas cylinders were distributed at the launch.
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“No mother and no family will be left behind as we move around the six Area Councils under the Project Breathe clean air-Abuja campaign and the One Baby at a Time initiative,” he stated.
A beneficiary, Sadiya Aliyu, said, “I never believed that I could receive something like this without having to pay. The Mandate Secretary even said delivery is free for pregnant women on FHIS. The baby kit will help me give birth safely and hygienically, and the gas cylinder means I won’t have to use charcoal anymore.
“With this gas cylinder, I can cook faster and cleaner. This support from FCTA has really lifted a burden off my shoulders.”
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