Goodwill Message by H.E. Mrs. Toyin Ojora Saraki
President and Founder, The Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA).

On the Occasion of the Global Health Workforce Program (GHWP) Partnership To Improve The Availability Of Quality Of Emergency Obstetric And Newborn Care At National And Sub-National Hospitals By Strengthening The Capacity Of The National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria – Equipment Donation to the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN); 29 May 2025, Lagos, Nigeria.

Goodwill Statement delivered by Mr Williams Awotunde, MPH, National Program Director, Wellbeing Foundation Africa
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Distinguished Guests, Esteemed Colleagues, and Partners,

On behalf of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), I am deeply honoured to extend our Founder and President, Her Excellency Toyin Ojora Saraki’s heartfelt greetings and congratulations to the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN) on this momentous occasion. Today’s donation of essential equipment under the Global Health Workforce Project (GHWP) formerly THET programme, led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), is a testament to our collective commitment to Strengthening Nigeria’s Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) capacity and Advanced Obstetrics Surgical Skills (AOSS).

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, as a proud partner on this transformative project, recognizes the critical role that NPMCN and its distinguished faculty play in shaping the future of maternal and newborn health in Nigeria. By equipping NPMCN with the tools and resources needed to empower our medical professionals to strengthen Continuous Professional Development, we are investing not only in the safety and wellbeing of mothers and babies but also in the future resilience of our nation’s health system.

Today, as we reflect on the tremendous achievements of the GHWP Project to improve the availability of quality of emergency obstetric and newborn care at national and sub-national hospitals by strengthening the capacity of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria over the past year, I am particularly delighted that the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has recognized the impact of our collaboration and granted an extension of six months.

This is not only a testament to the tireless dedication of our partners at LSTM and NPMCN but also a validation of the transformative change we are driving together in strengthening EmONC and AOSS capacity across Nigeria. This extension offers us an invaluable opportunity to deepen our impact, sustain progress, and leave an enduring legacy of resilience in maternal and newborn health. WBFA remains committed to working hand-in-hand with our partners to ensure that every mother and every newborn can survive and thrive.

The programme has trained 82 examiners and 120 resident doctors and established two Centers of Excellence (CoEs), and integrated the AOSS curriculum into national postgraduate training With a recently approved costed extension, the initiative has expanded its footprint to cover all six geopolitical zones, including new centres in Port Harcourt and Gombe with plans to train additional 64 resident doctors.

As the Wellbeing Foundation Africa’s President has stated,

“When we invest in the health of women and children, we are investing in the future of our families, communities, and nations. This is not just an act of goodwill—it is a declaration of our shared responsibility and commitment to life.”

“In order to improve maternal health significantly, we at the Wellbeing Foundation Africa have long identified the barriers that limit access, availability and quality of maternal and newborn health services. From the first moment I witnessed the impact of hands-on anatomically delivered simulation model training globally, I knew that building a community of well-practised multi-disciplinary delivery teams could address the local frontline barriers to improving care services rapidly and wholeheartedly, at both the health system and societal level.”

“Nigeria continues to bear an unacceptably high burden of maternal mortality, with an estimated 75,000 maternal deaths in 2023, accounting for approximately 28.7% of global maternal deaths. This staggering figure underscores the urgent need for continued efforts to strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers to manage obstetric emergencies and save lives. While significant progress has been made, there is still much work to do to ensure equitable access to life-saving care, particularly in underserved regions.”

“Let us remember that behind and beyond every statistic of maternal and newborn mortality lies a family and a community impacted. Together, through partnerships like the GHWP and unwavering commitment from institutions such as NPMCN, we can close the gaps in emergency obstetric care and ensure that no woman or child is left behind.”

“As the Wellbeing Foundation Africa commemorates its 20th anniversary of operations since 2004 to ensure safer births in Nigeria, we are immensely appreciative of our longstanding partnership with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine’s Centre for Childbirth, Women’s, and Newborn Health and its Emergency Obstetric & Quality of Care Unit, as well as the distinguished 125-year legacy of LSTM as a pioneering academic institution in global health. Our collaboration began in 2015 with the implementation of the Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care project in Kwara State, supported by Johnson & Johnson Global Health, which introduced certified EmONC skills and drills training across all 16 Local Government Areas, and successfully integrated continuous professional development into undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in partnership with the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, and later extending to the Nursing and Midwifery Coincil of Nigeria, leading to the establishment of two Centres of Excellence, which continue to cascade learnings to this day.”

“I am particularly encouraged and delighted, especially in my capacity as World Economic Forum Champion of the Global Alliance for Women’s Health and through my leadership of the Global Activators Network for Maternal Health, working to advance health equity, midwifery, and access to medical supplies, that the 2024–2025 extension of our LSTM–WBFA collaboration under the Global Health Workforce Programme, funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care and managed by the Tropical Health and Education Trust, has expanded Advanced Obstetric Surgical Skills training to medical examiners, registrars and resident doctors, as these efforts, in strengthening both clinical training and evaluation systems through the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, directly reinforces and aligns with the objectives of the Federal Government’s Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiatives (MAMII), which is focused on driving down Nigeria’s maternal mortality ratio through targeted, life-saving interventions for women and newborns in the country’s highest-burden areas.”

This training and equipment handover underscore the institutional sustainability of the programme, enabling Nigerian training institutions to integrate best practices into routine postgraduate medical education. We are also committed to mobilizing resources and partnerships to establish at least one Centre of Excellence in each geopolitical zone of Nigeria, ensuring equitable access to life-saving training for all regions and building a resilient, well-prepared obstetric workforce nationwide.

The AOSS programme implemented in Nigeria by the LSTM and WBFA is funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and managed by the Global Health Partnerships (GHP) and Ducit Blue Solutions, delivering health workforce transformation that benefits both UK and partner-country health sectors.

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa commends the Global Health Workforce Program (GHWP) and the leadership of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria for their dedication to this capacity building cause, and extend our deepest gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Health for their unwavering support and commitment to improving maternal and newborn health across Nigeria.

I also commend the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine for its holistic commitments to driving progress in maternal and neonatal health, through measurement and learning support for the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) the lead agency for MAMII, and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN, funded by the Gates Foundation, where acting as an operational extension of NPHCDA, LSTM plays a pivotal role in strengthening healthcare delivery systems and scaling evidence-based maternal and neonatal care interventions.

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa remains steadfast in our mission to support and strengthen maternal, newborn, and child health in Nigeria and across Africa.

Together, let us continue to build, grow and cascade a future where every mother and newborn can survive and thrive to the very frontlines and hands of health.

Thank you.