BY: FAIZA JIBRIN, JANUARY 16, 2026/ 07:56AM

Borno State Government is taking steps to reduce maternal and newborn deaths through digital health reforms and inter-agency collaboration.

The Borno State Contributory Health Care Management Agency (BOSCHMA) has signed an MoU with the Borno State Drugs and Medical Consumables Management Agency (BODMA) to ensure a steady supply of quality medicines for the formal sector contributory healthcare scheme.

During the signing of the MoU on Thursday, commissioner of health, Prof. Baba Mallam Gana said, 'what we have seen today is encouraging. Adjustments have been made to accommodate the formal sector. In some hospitals, the standard of care is even better than what you find in some private hospitals.'

He noted that the state has introduced free maternal drugs and expanded access to caesarean sections, with over 2,000 procedures recorded in the last year alone.

The commissioner made this statement after an inspection tour of selected hospitals, including Muhammad Shuwa Memorial Hospital, State Specialist Hospital, Maryam Abatcha Women and Children Hospital, Brigadier Abba Kyari General Hospital, and the State Pharmaceutical Store.

'The contributory health scheme is reducing out-of-pocket spending, which accounts for a significant portion of healthcare costs in Nigeria, while ensuring workers and their families can access quality services with ease,' Prof. Gana added.

BOSCHMA Executive Secretary Dr. Sale Abba said digitalization is key to the reforms.

'What BOSCHMA believes in is digitalization, and you can see it clearly in our facilities. We have established an electronic health record system and transmitted it down to the facility level,' he said.

Dr. Saleh explained that the system has solved long-standing challenges related to missing patient records, poor data tracking, and weak planning.

'In the past, we battled with missing folders and incomplete records. With electronic health records, we can now track patient attendance, healthcare access, and outcome,' he said.

The MoU signing guarantees a reliable drug supply chain under the contributory scheme, with BOSCHMA providing nearly N170 million to BoDMA for drug procurement and facility upgrades.

Health officials are confident the scheme will improve healthcare access for civil servants and reduce maternal and newborn deaths in Borno State.