In a landmark partnership announced on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the MTN Group Foundation and the Gates Foundation have launched the Nigeria Maternal Health Multiplier an ambitious, first-of-its-kind digital platform designed to tackle one of Africa’s most persistent health challenges.
The four-year initiative, backed by an initial investment of approximately $25 million between 2026 and 2030 through direct and in-kind contributions, aims to connect pregnant women, frontline health workers, and primary healthcare facilities through artificial intelligence, mobile technology, and improved connectivity.
The goals are clear and measurable: by 2030, help 500,000 women access trusted health guidance; equip 5,000 frontline health workers with digital tools to identify pregnancy and childbirth complications early; and enable 500 health facilities to deliver more consistent, higher-quality maternal care. Nigeria was deliberately chosen as the launch market because of the scale and urgency of its maternal health crisis.
Nigeria continues to shoulder a disproportionate share of the global maternal mortality burden. According to the latest United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group estimates, the country’s maternal mortality ratio stood at 993 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023 one of the highest rates worldwide and it accounted for nearly 29% of all estimated global maternal deaths that year, or roughly 75,000 lives lost.
Progress has been made over the past two decades, yet the numbers remain stark. Only about 59% of Nigerian women complete four or more antenatal care visits, meaning warning signs of complications often go undetected until it is too late. Skilled birth attendance also lags, with data from the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey showing that fewer than half of live births are attended by skilled personnel in some analyses. Postpartum haemorrhage, infections, pre-eclampsia, and other preventable causes drive the majority of these deaths.
The human cost is profound. A 15-year-old girl in Nigeria faces roughly a 1-in-25 lifetime risk of dying from maternal causes—far higher than in high-income countries. Rural communities, northern states, and the poorest households bear the heaviest burden, compounded by shortages of trained workers, weak infrastructure, limited data, and connectivity gaps that leave many facilities isolated.
The world has made real progress on maternal survival, cutting deaths by 40% since 2000. But that progress has stalled, and where a woman lives still shapes whether she survives childbirth. In sub-Saharan Africa, that risk is roughly 250 times higher than in Western Europe.
While Nigeria has made real progress in reducing maternal deaths over the past decade, a large burden remains to be addressed: The country accounts for nearly 30% of all maternal deaths worldwide. Many of these deaths are preventable, but with only 59% of women completing four or more antenatal care visits, warning signs often go undetected until it’s too late. Both the scale of that challenge and the urgency it represents are why Nigeria was selected as the first market for implementation of the Maternal Health Multiplier.
How the Maternal Health Multiplier Works
The platform rests on three interconnected pillars that form an integrated digital ecosystem.
First is an AI-enabled, phone-based decision-support system. Pregnant women and frontline health workers will receive real-time, locally relevant guidance tailored to their needs and languages. For mothers, this could mean personalized advice on danger signs, nutrition, appointment reminders, or when to seek care. For community health workers and facility staff, AI tools will help flag complications early such as signs of haemorrhage, hypertension, or infection thereby supporting faster, more accurate responses.
Second is access to affordable smartphones and mobile data. By putting devices and connectivity into the hands of women who previously lacked them, the initiative removes a major barrier to digital health services, particularly in underserved areas.
Third is upgraded internet connectivity at primary healthcare facilities. Reliable broadband ensures that digital tools function where they are needed most and that facilities can share data, access guidance, and coordinate care without geographic isolation determining outcomes.
MTN contributes its extensive network infrastructure across Nigeria, digital inclusion expertise, mobile financial services, device distribution channels, and deep local market knowledge. The Gates Foundation brings decades of experience in maternal, newborn, and child health programming, digital health innovation, responsible AI development, and scaling interventions. Together they aim to create a model that amplifies existing systems rather than operating in parallel.
The initiative explicitly builds on Nigeria’s Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), led by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare under a Sector-Wide Approach.
Nigerian officials have welcomed the partnership. Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Minister Bosun Tijani highlighted the value of applying digital transformation to healthcare for those who need it most. Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Muhammad Ali Pate noted that the effort will strengthen frontline workers and work within existing systems.
“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. 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.”
– Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Nigeria
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita described the broader vision: “Technology is creating unprecedented opportunities to make health care more personalised, predictive and accessible… Starting in Nigeria, our ambition is to demonstrate a scalable model for improving maternal and child health outcomes across Africa.” The $25 million anchor funding is intended to catalyse additional investment and eventual expansion to other markets.
“Strengthening primary healthcare and empowering the frontline health workers who deliver it are core to our health sector reforms. 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. We welcome this collaboration and look forward to it strengthening the work already underway.”
– Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria
The four-year partnership was announced at Semafor’s Next 3 Billion event, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. It begins with an initial investment of approximately US$25 million between 2026 and 2030, including direct and in-kind contributions from the Gates Foundation and MTN. This anchor investment is intended to catalyze additional funding and support future expansion into other markets over time.
“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. Technology is creating unprecedented opportunities to make healthcare more personalised, predictive and accessible. As artificial intelligence evolves, we can put trusted, locally relevant health insights directly into the hands of mothers and healthcare professionals, tailored to their unique needs and languages. Starting in Nigeria, our ambition is to demonstrate a scalable model for improving maternal and child health outcomes across Africa. The true value of innovation lies in its ability to improve lives and create better futures for generations to come.”
– Ralph Mupita, President and CEO, MTN Group
This launch does not occur in a vacuum. Nigeria and partners have already demonstrated that targeted innovations can save lives. The Gates-supported E-MOTIVE intervention, which uses calibrated blood-collection drapes and a treatment bundle for postpartum haemorrhage, has shown dramatic results in detection and treatment adherence.
In Kano State Nigeria, implementation sites reported substantial reductions in maternal deaths, with hundreds of haemorrhage cases successfully managed that might otherwise have been fatal. Local production of calibrated drapes is scaling, and multiple micronutrient supplements for pregnant women are expanding to combat anaemia.
Primary healthcare revitalisation efforts have also advanced, with thousands of facilities refurbished in recent years. Yet gaps in consistent quality, workforce capacity, data systems, and last-mile access persist. Digital tools that put actionable information into the hands of mothers and workers, while strengthening facility connectivity, address precisely these bottlenecks.
If successful, the Maternal Health Multiplier could shift maternal care from reactive and uneven to more proactive, personalized, and continuous—spanning pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period. Early identification of complications, better adherence to antenatal visits, and stronger linkages between communities and facilities could prevent thousands of deaths. Data generated responsibly along the way may also inform national policy and resource allocation.
However, Integration with government systems, training of health workers, and sustainable financing beyond the initial period will determine long-term success. Cultural and linguistic relevance of AI guidance, trust-building with communities, and avoiding the creation of parallel systems will be essential.
The partnership arrives at a moment when both technology and political will appear aligned. Nigeria has prioritised digital transformation and maternal health reforms. MTN has placed AI at the centre of its Ambition 2030 strategy. The Gates Foundation continues its long-term commitment to ending preventable maternal and child deaths as part of its broader global health agenda.
Beyond Nigeria, the platform is positioned as a potential blueprint. If the combination of AI decision support, affordable devices, data connectivity, and systems integration proves effective and scalable, it could be adapted to other high-burden countries across the continent. Success would demonstrate how private-sector connectivity assets and philanthropic expertise can multiply the impact of public health investments.
For the hundreds of thousands of Nigerian women who will engage with the platform, the difference may be measured in safer pregnancies, earlier interventions, and more mothers surviving to raise their children. In a country where maternal mortality still claims tens of thousands of lives each year, that outcome would represent meaningful progress toward a future in which no woman dies from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
