Nigerian Governors' Forum and Grand Challenges Tackle Maternal Health

The Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF) and Grand Challenges Nigeria held their Annual Meeting and Innovation Exchange on November 13, 2026, at Lake Greenfield Hotel. The event aimed to review health innovations and strategize their scaling across Nigeria.

Uju-Rochas Anwukah, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health, urged state governments to transition from discussions to funding innovations that can reduce maternal and newborn deaths. She highlighted that since its inception, the initiative has provided seed funding of up to N60 million each to ten Nigerian-led projects, with eight showcased at the meeting.

Anwukah, who chairs the Grand Challenges Nigeria board, stressed the importance of sustainable financing and evidence-based interventions. Alem Hadera Abay from the Gates Foundation pointed out Nigeria's troubling maternal and child mortality figures, urging stronger commitments to health goals.

Dr Mukhtar Yawale Muhammad emphasized involving potential users in research from the start, while Dr Abdulateef O.T. Shittu and Dr Chinekwu Oreh discussed the need for innovations to align with Nigeria's health system realities.