For many women in Muna, this change comes after years of uncertainty and dangerous deliveries.
“I was in labour, in pain, scared, and worried about how I would get to the hospital. I delivered the baby at home but I lost so much blood.”
Zainab Babagana recalls this experience all too vividly because she lived it just a few years ago, during her previous pregnancy; overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty, unsure she would deliver her baby safely. It was almost midnight when she went into labour, the closest clinic was 5 kilometers away and with no personal mode of transportation, she dreaded she would lose the baby and possibly, her life.
Each year, an estimated 75,000 women die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications in Nigeria, even though many of these deaths are preventable. According to the World Health Organisation, the country accounts for over 34 percent of global maternal deaths.
“The delivery was very hard, I suffered. My labour started at night and the nearest hospital was very far. To make it worse, after 10 p.m. people were not allowed to travel by keke Napep”
(a popular mode of transportation in Maiduguri).
At the age of 27 and with a 4th child on the way, Zainab feared a repeat of her past experience. She had seen enough women die during childbirth, particularly, living in northeast Nigeria where women face one of the world’s highest risks of dying in childbirth as insecurity pushes maternal care farther out of reach.
When care is out of reach, women give birth at home
“Between 1st to 31st May, 2025, ALIMA recorded 1,439 first prenatal consultations for women in the Muna clinic. However, despite managing these mothers to the peak of their pregnancies, a large number of them had home deliveries. We recorded a total of 94 home births because there were no 24hr clinics available to admit them” said Panmwa Paul, Muna Clinic Midwife supervisor.
“These mothers, like Zainab, had no choice but to deliver in unsterile environments, without skilled assistance or medical support which created several complications including maternal and child mortality. This situation was an indication of the huge gap in the reproductive health (RH) services in the community; ALIMA knew it was crucial to fill that gap”.
This gap in access to care highlighted the urgent need for a solution that would be available at all times.
Faced with this reality, ensuring access to care at any time of day or night became critical.
Keeping the Maternity Ward Open Day and Night
Already providing support in health and nutrition services across three primary health care centers in Maiduguri in close collaboration with the state’s Ministry of Health (MoH), ALIMA launched its 24 hour Reproductive Health services at the Muna clinic in June 2025.
The 24/7 Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC) services at Muna Clinic, is designed to ensure around the clock access to life-saving care for mothers and newborns, prevent avoidable maternal and neonatal deaths by providing timely emergency interventions, reduce the risks associated with home deliveries and unassisted births and strengthen healthcare access for vulnerable women and girls living in displacement and crisis settings.
This marked a turning point for maternal care in the community.
Since its launch, the clinic has already supported the safe delivery of over 550 babies and significantly improved access to maternal care in the community
Working closely with the MOH to raise community awareness on the new services, ALIMA also partners with MSF Operational Centre Brussels (OCB) which provides an overnight ambulance to the clinic for emergency patient transfers.
Giving Birth Differently
Of the 550 mothers who have benefitted from this intervention, Zainab was the 10th.
A few years after her traumatic experience, her fourth pregnancy unfolded very differently.
This time, everything was different.
“During my 4th pregnancy, when I heard that ALIMA Muna Clinic had started an all night clinic, I was very happy, I knew it would be easier. This time my labour went faster. ALIMA Muna Clinic is closer to me than other hospitals. I gave birth to my fourth child here at the clinic and it was so different from the last one. The medical team was very nice, I was not afraid or worried. I am happy I came here, my delivery was easier and my child is alive and well.”
Maiduguri, Nigeria. September, 2025 Photo, © Christiana Yusuf / ALIMA
Zainab Sani, mother of 10, has a similar testimony. She recounts her 9th delivery saying it is an experience she would never forget.
“I was restless when my labor began, and afraid. We did not have a clinic nearby. I paced for hours to ease the pain but it would not subside until eventually, the local midwife arrived and helped me deliver. There was a lot of blood but at that time, I was only concerned for my life and the life of my baby. I was thinking ‘if I die now, who would look after these children?’”
Today, Zainab compares that delivery to that of her twins at the Muna clinic and she says the difference is clear. “I attended the antenatal clinic for months and when my labor started, I immediately rushed here because it is not far from where I live. The midwife checked and said I was ready and in a very short time my twins were born. It was easy, they made me feel safe and comfortable, there was little pain and I was at peace knowing I and my babies were in good hands”
Zainab says with her last experience at the Muna clinic, she is confident to encourage other pregnant women to go there.
“And now I say to the pregnant women in my community, “go to ALIMA Muna Clinic, they will take care of you.”
Services provided at the Muna Clinic are made possible with funding from the European Union.
