Benue, UN Women Launch Steering Committee to Boost Male Involvement in Maternal Health

From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi

The Benue State Government, in partnership with UN Women, has inaugurated a State Steering Committee on Male Engagement in Antenatal Care (ANC), Postnatal Care (PNC) and Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) as part of efforts to address social norms that limit men’s participation in maternal and child healthcare.

The committee is expected to serve as the highest coordinating and oversight body for the implementation of interventions aimed at encouraging men and boys to play more active roles in maternal health, HIV prevention, reproductive health, mental health and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) response across the state.

Speaking during the inauguration in Makurdi on behalf of Governor Hyacinth Alia, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs. Deborah Aber, described the initiative as a significant step toward improving maternal and child health outcomes and strengthening family wellbeing in Benue.

She said the committee was deliberately composed of representatives from government ministries, traditional institutions, religious organisations, civil society groups, the media and development partners to ensure a coordinated and inclusive response to the challenge.

According to Aber, increased male involvement in maternal and child healthcare would not only contribute to reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV but also strengthen family support systems and improve community health outcomes.

She noted that many women continue to face health and emotional challenges, including postpartum depression, often without adequate support from their partners, stressing that the initiative would help men better understand and participate in the healthcare journey of their wives and children.

The SSG charged members of the committee to provide strategic leadership, guidance and oversight for the successful implementation of the programme, while designating the Commissioner for Health and Human Services to coordinate the initiative on behalf of the state government.

Speaking on behalf of the UN Women Country Representative, Mrs. Beatrice Eyong, the Deputy Representative, Mrs. Patience Ekeoba, described the inauguration as the beginning of a movement aimed at recognising men as critical partners and champions of maternal, newborn and family health.

Ekeoba said evidence has shown that maternal and child health can no longer be viewed as the sole responsibility of women, revealing that recent findings indicate that less than four per cent of men are actively involved in pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal care.

She explained that the steering committee emerged from a four-day training organised by UN Women and its partners for community leaders and health workers, where participants unanimously agreed on the need for a platform to sustain advocacy and implementation efforts.

The UN Women official commended the Benue State Government for its commitment to the initiative, noting that more than 13 step-down trainings had already been conducted in communities, health facilities and media organisations since the initial training held in May.

Also speaking, the UNAIDS representative, Mr. Gabriel Undelikwo, applauded the state’s leadership, stressing that families achieve better health outcomes when men actively support women and children. He assured Benue of UNAIDS’ continued partnership in advancing public health interventions.

The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Paul Ogwuche, said male engagement in maternal and child health had become imperative given the influence of cultural norms and family structures on healthcare decisions. He pledged the ministry’s full support through policy direction, coordination and monitoring mechanisms.

Earlier, the Director-General of the Benue State Bureau for International Cooperation and Development (BICD), Dr. Leo-Angelo Viashima, urged traditional and religious leaders to champion the campaign in their communities, marriage counselling sessions and places of worship.

While he noted that many men are absent in their wives journey from pregnancy to delivery, Viashima stressed that preventing HIV transmission to infants and ensuring positive outcomes for mothers and children requires greater male participation throughout pregnancy and childbirth.

He expressed confidence in the constitution of the committee saying “The beautiful thing with the High Level engagement committee is that the SSG as the Chairman of the committee is a woman and so she would direct the process and ensure that the men who are co-chairing with her do the right thing.

“To the traditional rulers and religious leaders, this doesn’t end here. Our intension would be for us to move this forward to our communities using the traditional settings, church and Muslim sessions.”

Providing an overview of the initiative, UN Women Programme Officer, Mr. Martin Mary, lamented the country’s low male participation rate of 3.4 per cent in maternal healthcare services.

He expressed optimism that the programme would strengthen policy support, improve multisectoral coordination, increase male participation in ANC, PNC and PMTCT services, enhance resource mobilisation and deepen collaboration among government, communities and development partners.

In his closing remarks, the Director of Programmes, Benue State SDGs, Mr. Terver Yager, described the inauguration as the beginning of an important journey toward transforming social norms, strengthening families and improving health outcomes.

He called for collective action among stakeholders to ensure that men and boys become active partners in promoting the wellbeing of women, children and communities across Benue State.

The event ended with renewed commitments from traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organisations and development partners to intensify community mobilisation and awareness campaigns aimed at promoting male engagement as a key strategy for improving maternal, newborn and child health outcomes in the state.