Throw myself a party and act surprised
FG is finally ready to talk about why mothers are dying in Kastina
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- Margaret
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Let’s get into today’s edition:
FG is finally ready to discuss why mothers are dying in Kastina
USAID has taken another hit from Trump
The Big Deal
FG is finally ready to discuss why mothers are dying in Kastina
If there’s one thing Nigeria needs to start exporting, it’s audacity, and if there’s one more thing we need to add to the long list of things we already export, it’s shame.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, recently mentioned that he’s concerned about the disturbing number of women who die at childbirth in Kastina state every year. For context, Kastina currently has the highest maternal mortality rate in Nigeria, with 1,621 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. But here’s the gag: this “concern” is a few years late. The Nigerian government's last significant effort to control the mortality rate was in 2009, so why is the Minister of Health pretending to be surprised that more women are dying during childbirth?
Pate emphasised the need for more skilled birth attendants and community-based health workers and the provision of essential maternal and reproductive health commodities. We’re not mad at it, but the minister (who’s in the best position to pull these off) didn’t provide any actionable steps or deadlines for the implementation of any of these strategies. So right now, Kastina women have a concerned minister and health budget that screams “bare minimum”.
Why is this a big deal?
The rest of the world is working towards reducing the global maternal mortality rate to 70 deaths per 100,000 by 2030, but Nigeria is still not anywhere close. Last month, the Kastina government renovated 168 primary healthcare facilities, trained over 5,000 healthcare workers and posted 150 midwives to different parts of the state. On paper, this sounds okay, but for a state with over 8 million residents, that barely scratches the surface.
Katsina is one of the states that heavily rely on the federal government for money-related needs, so addressing the state’s mortality rate kind of falls back on FG’s table. Sadly, that table is shaky when it comes to healthcare allocation. Only 5.18% of the 2025 budget was set aside for the healthcare of Nigerians. In simple words – health is wealth everywhere in the world except Nigeria.
In real life, this means hospitals are underfunded to provide basic treatment, equipment, or blood banks for emergency maternal care. This also means that we now have more overworked and underpaid health workers leaving the country for better opportunities abroad.
This isn’t just a Katsina problem; it affects every Nigerian. If 5.18% of the national budget is what our lives are worth, only God can help us.
USAID has taken another hit from Trump
Trump has never been one to talk and not do. Yesterday, we broke down how the US president and his appointed financial advisor, Elon Musk, are planning to lay off civil workers who aren’t impressive at their jobs.
The Trump administration has officially kicked off its mass layoffs, firing 1,600 employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and placing some other staff members on paid administrative leave—except for the chosen few in leadership or “mission-critical” roles.
By 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, the emails had already started rolling in. Affected employees got their notifications, while the lucky ones marked as “essential personnel” were informed that they could keep their jobs (for now).
The agency has been the public enemy number one for Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Just a few weeks ago, Trump called USAID a hub of “tremendous fraud” and “unprecedented corruption”, making it clear he wanted it gone.
Now, USAID employees abroad have just 30 days to pack up and return to the U.S. This is a major L for an agency that employs more than 10,000 people yearly. The agency had over 28,000 Nigerian employees who will most likely be re-employed by the Nigerian government. The Trump administration is now planning to reduce USAID’s yearly hiring activity to about 300 employees.
It’s a rough situation to be in, but judging by Trump’s aggressive layoff approach, there are still thousands of termination letters to be distributed in the US.
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This Week’s Big Question
“If you could help Nigeria pick a president, who would it be and why?” ”
Faiza’s response - “Ayra Starr – I have no solid reasons. I just know we'd have a lot of fun, and I think Nigerians need at least 4 years (or more) of good fun. We don too suffer. ”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting Faiza’s , we’ll feature it in the next edition.
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