MTN Group Foundation, Gates Foundation Launch AI-Enabled Maternal Health Platform in Nigeria

The four-year partnership includes an initial investment of approximately $25 Mn between 2026 and 2030 through direct and in-kind contributions from the MTN Group Foundation and the Gates Foundation.

MTN Group Foundation and the Gates Foundation have launched the Nigeria Maternal Health Multiplier, an AI-enabled maternal health care initiative designed to connect women, frontline health workers and primary health care facilities.

The four-year programme aims to expand access to maternal health support across underserved communities in Nigeria by 2030.

According to the organisations, Nigeria accounts for nearly 30% of maternal deaths globally, while only 59% of women complete four or more antenatal care visits. The programme has therefore selected Nigeria as its first market for implementation.

The Maternal Health Multiplier will build on Nigeria’s Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), which is being deployed by the Federal Ministry of Health under its Sector-Wide Approach.

Rather than operating as a standalone digital service, the platform is intended to work alongside existing health systems and primary care services.

Its digital health model will combine AI-enabled, phone-based decision support for mothers and frontline health workers with affordable smartphones and mobile data.

“AI has enormous potential to improve health, but only if its benefits reach the people who stand to gain the most,” said Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation. “Left to the market alone, potential tends to benefit those who can already afford it, not the people who need it most. That’s where philanthropy has a role to play: not as a substitute for investment, but as a catalyst for it. Programs like the Maternal Health Multiplier are creating AI tools for and putting them into the hands of Nigerian mothers and frontline health workers, helping keep moms and their babies healthy.”

Improved connectivity at primary health care facilities will also form part of the programme, allowing health workers to access real-time guidance and helping pregnant women use digital health services without connectivity and affordability becoming major barriers.

By 2030, the partnership aims to help 500,000 women access trusted maternal health guidance, equip 5,000 frontline health workers with tools to identify complications during pregnancy and childbirth at an earlier stage, and support 500 health facilities in delivering more consistent maternal health care.

The programme is intended to cover the continuum from pregnancy and childbirth through the postnatal period.

The four-year partnership includes an initial investment of approximately $25 Mn between 2026 and 2030 through direct and in-kind contributions from the MTN Group Foundation and the Gates Foundation.

The investment is expected to support the initial implementation and help attract additional funding for potential expansion into other markets.

“As artificial intelligence evolves, we can put trusted, locally relevant health insights directly into the hands of mothers and healthcare professionals, tailored to their unique needs and languages. Starting in Nigeria, our ambition is to demonstrate a scalable model for improving maternal and child health outcomes across Africa. The true value of innovation lies in its ability to improve lives and create better futures for generations to come,” Ralph Mupita, MTN Group president and CEO.

The partnership brings together MTN’s connectivity infrastructure, digital inclusion capabilities, mobile financial services, and device distribution networks with the Gates Foundation’s experience in maternal, newborn, and child health, digital health innovation, responsible AI, and evidence-based scale-up.

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