The Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, has congratulated the management and staff of the Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Azare, on the safe delivery of a set of quadruplets under the Federal Government’s free maternal healthcare programme.
According to a statement released on Wednesday evening by the Acting Director of Media and Public Relations, Emmanuel Ononokpono, the quadruplets, two boys and two girls, were delivered via caesarean section on September 18, 2025.
The mother, 35-year-old Hauwa Usman, had initially been diagnosed with triplets and a malpositioned fetus but eventually gave birth to four babies.
The delivery was made possible through the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care programme, which was launched in August 2024 to provide free emergency caesarean sections and other maternal and neonatal services for vulnerable women across Nigeria.
As of January 2025, the government had already spent about N87 million to support 2,819 women who benefited from the scheme.
During a visit to the hospital, NHIA’s Bauchi State Coordinator, Mustapha Mohammed, who represented Dr. Ohiri, congratulated the family and praised Hauwa’s husband, Abubakar Adamu, for bringing her from Gambaki village, 35 kilometres away from Azare, in time to access the intervention.
He said the timely transfer to a tertiary hospital saved both the mother and babies, while sparing the family the burden of high medical bills. He encouraged other families to take advantage of the programme, stressing that it is free of charge.
Dr. Ohiri reaffirmed NHIA’s commitment to reducing maternal and child deaths under the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Dauda Katagum (represented by Dr. Sani Giade), also thanked NHIA for the support, revealing that 422 women had benefited from the programme at the facility. He noted that the quadruplet birth was the first since the programme began.
Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dr. Achanpa Sunday, called for more community and government support to sustain the health of the mother and babies.
The father of the quadruplets, Abubakar Adamu, a peasant farmer, expressed his joy at the blessing of children but appealed for financial support to help him care for his expanded family.
