The European Union, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have called for stronger domestic investment and sustained government commitment to consolidate gains made in maternal, newborn, adolescent, and youth health services in Kwara State.

The call was made during an advocacy visit by a delegation of the European Union, UNICEF, UNFPA, the German Embassy, and other partners to Kwara State, where the partners reviewed the progress and impact of EU-supported interventions in the state.

During the visit, the head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation, Massimo Deluca, said the mission aimed to take stock of progress after about a year of implementation and assess how the state was moving with partners towards agreed targets.

Deluca said the EU had selected Kwara as a pivotal state for its interventions, particularly in adolescent and maternal health, noting that the partnership was intended not merely as financial support but as an intervention whose results must be measured.

He said the EU was planning to expand its support, while stressing the importance of understanding the level of investment and delivery by the Kwara State government in the health sector.

He added that the EU's contribution was intended to complement the state's own efforts and emphasised the importance of maintaining close dialogue between the EU and the state government to track progress towards agreed targets.

UNICEF's MNCH manager, Martin Axel, commended the state for what he described as strong leadership, ownership and accountability in implementing the interventions.

Axel said the state had demonstrated commitment to the partnership and noted that the experience in Kwara was also encouraging other states implementing the programme.

He mentioned community midwifery as a major milestone and said UNICEF was complementing the approach with its safer birth bundle care initiative, which supports health facilities in managing preventable deaths among mothers and newborns.

Responding, the Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, represented by his deputy, Mr Kayode Alabi, said the state valued its partnership with the European Union and welcomed the opportunity to assess how EU-supported investments were benefiting residents.

AbdulRazaq said the visit provided an opportunity to review progress, hear from those implementing and using the interventions, identify what was working and determine areas requiring improvement.

He specifically highlighted the EU-SARAH initiative and its support for strengthening maternal, newborn, adolescent and youth health services in the state.