By Ayobamiji Komolafe,Regina Otokpa
Copyright newtelegraphng
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has celebrated the safe delivery of its first set of quadruplets under the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) programme.
The milestone was achieved at the Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Azare, where medical experts successfully delivered the babies, two boys and two girls through a caesarean section on Thursday, September 18, 2025. The mother, 35-year-old Hauwa Usman, had initially been diagnosed with triplets and malpresentation of fetus but eventually gave birth to quadruplets.
NHIA Director General, Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, represented by the Bauchi State Coordinator, Mustapha Mohammed, congratulated the hospital management and staff for their professionalism. He also commended Hauwa’s husband, Abubakar Adamu, for transporting his wife from Gambaki village, 35 kilometers away from Azare, to access the life-saving programme.
Ohiri stressed that timely access to CEmONC saved both mother and babies, while shielding the family from catastrophic medical expenses. He urged families struggling with healthcare costs to take advantage of NHIA’s interventions for vulnerable groups across designated facilities nationwide.
“CEmONC is a life-saving emergency care for women and newborns in underserved areas like Gambaki village. The programme addresses the leading causes of maternal deaths in Nigeria and protects families from financial and social pain. For Hauwa and all other beneficiaries, treatments are entirely free,” he said.
Reiterating NHIA’s commitment to maternal and child healthcare under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Ohiri noted that the initiative aligns with the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, led by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate.
Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Dauda Katagum, represented by Head of Clinical Services, Dr. Sani Giade, disclosed that 422 pregnant women had benefited from CEmONC at the facility, with the quadruplet marking the programme’s first such delivery.
Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Achanpa Sunday, who led the delivery team, explained that the emergency caesarean section was performed after the initial diagnosis of triplets, only to discover quadruplets intraoperatively.
Expressing his joy, the father of the babies, Abubakar Adamu, a peasant farmer, thanked NHIA for the intervention but appealed for financial assistance to enable him to care for his expanded family.
