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One thousand expectant mothers in Ondo State have received free delivery kits from the state government. The women are the first beneficiaries of the Ibi Irorun Safe Delivery Initiative, launched by the Ondo State Government on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at the Basic Healthcare Centre, Arakale, Akure. The first phase will provide 1,000 pregnancy kits, with more than 500 distributed to women at the launch.
Each kit contains 13 hospital delivery items, including wrappers, gloves and other essential materials women are expected to have when they go to the hospital to give birth. The Permanent Secretary of the Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Francis Akanbiemu, said beneficiaries would only need to take the kits to their health facilities when they are due for delivery.
“Everything needed for delivery is there, including wrappers and gloves. They do not need to take anything else to the hospital.”
The initiative is significant for women who might otherwise have to assemble the items themselves while also covering other costs associated with pregnancy and childbirth. The state says the kits are intended to reduce that financial pressure on expectant mothers and their families.
Dr Bosede Osamaye, Ondo State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, said the kits would provide women with essential items for safer, more comfortable deliveries.
“Delivery is already free in government health centres. These maternity kits will further reduce the financial burden on expectant mothers and their families”
The combination of these two measures means women delivering in government health facilities will not have to pay for the delivery service itself or purchase the listed materials before they can give birth. Akanbiemu said bringing free delivery services together with the kits would further reduce the costs families face during childbirth. At the launch, beneficiaries expressed appreciation for the initiative, saying the kits would reduce the financial pressure of preparing for childbirth on their families.
The first 1,000 women are part of the programme’s initial phase. According to reports on the launch, the initiative is expected to be implemented in phases, with the broader programme intended to reach expectant mothers across Ondo State.
The support comes alongside the state’s existing maternal healthcare programme. In January 2026, the Ondo State Government said 54,000 pregnant women and children under five had already benefited from its Abiyamo scheme, which provides free health services to pregnant women and children below five through the state’s contributory health insurance system.
The immediate benefit of the Ibi Irorun Safe Delivery Initiative cannot be overstated, as expectant mothers are now financially unburdened by the items they would ordinarily have had to buy themselves.
