Obafemi Awolowo University researcher, Professor Ibraheem O. Awowole won a Gates Foundation-funded project to implement the Pregnancy Risk Stratification Innovations in Maternal Health (PRIME) Grant for three years. The worth of the grant is US$5m and will include implementation partners including Jhpiego, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Nigeria, and seven state-level Ministries of Health in the country in the initial phase.

With Nigeria accounting for a quarter of global maternal deaths, Prof. Awowole’s work on PRIME targets reducing maternal deaths in Nigeria by 60%. The project will be led by Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, and implemented across seven Nigerian states: Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Kano, Kaduna, Gombe and Jigawa.

The Vice- Chancellor, Prof Simeon Bamire, in a meeting with the Research Lead, expressed that: “This grant shows what happens when a Researcher takes a national problem and decides to lead. OAU is proud that this work from Ile-Ife will shape how women are cared for in these seven states, and eventually the country as a whole”.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research Innovation and Development, Professor Akanni Akinyemi, also added that “the University’s job is to back researchers that can translate evidence into tangible results that reach people and transform lives.”

The Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Prof. Bernice Adegbehingbe, further highlighted the importance of the project. She expressed her concerns that “most women who die from pre-eclampsia could have been saved if screening had been carried out early to detect the risk. A project like PRIME puts simple, proven tools in the hands of the health workers who see these women first. We are grateful to the Gates Foundation, and we will deliver.”

The University, while congratulating Professor Ibraheem Awowole and his team, emphasised the University’s unwavering support for the project.