The wife of the Enugu State Governor, Mrs Nkechinyere Mbah, has enrolled 868 pregnant women from the 17 local government areas of the state in the Enugu State health insurance scheme.
The women were enrolled through her Custos Care Foundation (CCF) under the MamaCare Health Insurance Onboarding Programme, themed “A Healthy Life Begins in the Womb.” The programme was held on Saturday at the International Conference Centre, Enugu.
The foundation also distributed 868 bags of 10kg rice to the beneficiaries.
Mrs Mbah said the initiative was aimed at ensuring that vulnerable pregnant women had access to healthcare before, during and after childbirth without the burden of medical expenses.
She said the expanded MamaCare Initiative, launched in 2024, had previously enrolled more than 1,800 pregnant women, providing access to antenatal care, delivery services and postnatal support. The original 2024 launch enrolled 1,701 women under a one-year insurance programme.
According to her, the latest phase is built around four areas: access to healthcare, maternal nutrition and wellness, safe pregnancy and delivery, and postnatal and early-child support.
“Health insurance is therefore not simply about providing a card. It is about providing access, it is about providing protection, and sometimes it is about saving a life,” she said.
Mrs Mbah said the programme would also promote nutrition education, healthy living and food outreach, stressing that the health of a mother during pregnancy affects the wellbeing of her child.
She urged beneficiaries to attend antenatal appointments regularly, take warning signs seriously and seek treatment at accredited healthcare facilities.
She also announced plans to launch “Hope After Grief”, a support programme for women experiencing grief, trauma and other emotional challenges during pregnancy, childbirth or after delivery.
Mrs Mbah said the foundation planned to reach at least 1,000 additional mothers in rural and semi-urban communities across Enugu in 2026.
She called for the involvement of government, healthcare professionals, families, traditional and community leaders, civil society organisations and other stakeholders in promoting safe motherhood.
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Enugu State Agency for Universal Health Coverage, Mrs Edith Okolo, said the agency was collaborating with Mrs Mbah to implement the MamaCare programme.
Okolo said Mrs Mbah was funding one year of health insurance coverage for the 868 beneficiaries, while the agency was responsible for their registration and access to accredited healthcare providers.
“Today, we are registering them for free health insurance and issuing them cards. Then they will be able to go to any of our accredited healthcare providers to receive health services,” Okolo said.
She said beneficiaries could access antenatal care, delivery services and healthcare for their newborn babies at accredited public, private and mission hospitals across the state.
Okolo added that the scheme had a mechanism for beneficiaries to report difficulties encountered while accessing healthcare.
She said beneficiaries would be encouraged to renew their coverage after the sponsored 12-month period, noting that the annual premium was ₦12,000.
The Managing Director of Custos Care Foundation, Mrs Egodi Igwe, said the foundation enrolled 1,801 women under the MamaCare Initiative in 2024 and was enrolling another 868 in the latest phase.
Igwe said the foundation had so far invested more than ₦20 million in health insurance coverage for pregnant women and would implement the programme in phases, with plans to increase the number of beneficiaries.
The MamaCare Initiative forms part of CCF’s wider maternal and women’s health interventions. In March 2026, the foundation also organised a large-scale medical outreach for women and girls in Enugu, offering screening, consultations and medication.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Chigozie Chukwu, described the initiative as “beautiful and fantastic”, saying it would reduce the financial burden associated with childbirth.
“May God Almighty bless our mama, Mrs Nkechinyere Mbah, for her love and kind gesture towards Enugu women and children,” she said.
