Health
Kwara moves to curb teenage pregnancy, child marriage
Toheeb Omotayo
The Kwara State Government has stepped up efforts to tackle teenage pregnancy and child marriage as part of measures to improve maternal and child health outcomes, saying sustained investments in the health sector have begun to yield measurable results across the state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, disclosed this on Saturday at the finalisation of the 2026 Joint Annual Review of the health sector in Ilorin.
She said the government, in collaboration with development partners, had rolled out several interventions to curb teenage pregnancy, end child marriage and strengthen access to quality healthcare.
El-Imam noted that community sensitisation campaigns, maternal health interventions and family planning programmes remained central to the state’s strategy for reducing early pregnancies and improving health indices.
“We have implemented programmes to reduce teenage pregnancy and child marriage in collaboration with our development partners through sustained community sensitisation and other interventions aimed to improve maternal and child health outcomes,” she said.
The commissioner noted that the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has sustained reforms across the health sector, leading to significant improvements in maternal health and family planning services.
“These reforms have focused on infrastructure development, primary healthcare revitalisation, human resource strengthening, health insurance expansion and aggressive disease control programmes,” she added.
El-Imam described the Joint Annual Review as a critical accountability mechanism that enables stakeholders to evaluate sector performance, identify implementation gaps and agree on priorities for the coming year.
“The review provides us with an opportunity to assess our progress, identify challenges and agree on priority actions. Institutionalising the Sector-Wide Approach has strengthened coordination, planning and collaboration among all stakeholders in the health sector,” El-Imam declared.
The commissioner pointed out that the government has also intensified efforts to reduce maternal and newborn deaths by strengthening referral systems and building the capacity of frontline health workers through interventions such as the State Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System and the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health Plus Nutrition programme.
She insisted that investments in the Children Specialist Hospital, Centre Igboro, as well as the expansion of midwifery training institutions, were aimed at strengthening specialised healthcare services and increasing the state’s health workforce.
El-Imam further disclosed that Kwara recorded Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy treatment rates of between 97 and 100 per cent for malaria management across its 16 local government areas.
However, she acknowledged that gaps remained in intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women, facility-based deliveries and postnatal care utilisation.
“These gaps align with our priorities under MAMII, HOPE-PHC and the state’s Annual Operational Plan, and they will guide future interventions to improve maternal and child health outcomes,” she said.
Thus, the commissioner urged participants at the review meeting to make evidence-based recommendations that would accelerate progress towards Universal Health Coverage while reducing maternal and child mortality in the state.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, the State Coordinator of the Sector-Wide Approach, Ola Ahmed, said the review examined the health sector’s performance over the last year to determine the extent to which established targets had been achieved.
“We look at what we have done well, identify areas where performance was below expectations and discuss the existing gaps,” Ahmed said.
He added, “The findings from this review will shape planning for 2027, help consolidate our achievements and provide solutions to identified challenges. This finalisation meeting marks the conclusion of this year’s review process, while implementation of the recommendations will continue.”
Also speaking, the Olupo of Ajase-Ipo, Oba Ismail Alebiosu, and the Ohoro of Shao, Dr Johnson Obalowu, commended the state government for prioritising healthcare delivery and pledged the continued support of traditional institutions in promoting public health campaigns, particularly those aimed at reducing teenage pregnancy through sustained community engagement.
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