U.S., Nigeria and GE launch initiative to reduce mother and infant deaths.

The U.S. and Nigerian governments and General Electric will launch the Healthymagination Mother and Child Initiative to reduce Mother and infant mortality in Nigeria with an event 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

Healthymagination Mother and Child Initiative will expand access to digital prenatal screenings to reduce preventable deaths. 

U.S. Ambassador James Entwistle, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, Dr. Ado Mohammed and GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt will act as the presenters of the $20 million health initiative.

The collaboration will provide digital prenatal screenings to 2 million Nigerian Mothers. While the median number of infant deaths in Nigeria has dropped from 70.2 in 1967 to 34.3 in 2015, it is still nearly 10 times the rate of U.S. infant deaths in 2015. The maternal death rate dropped by only 2 percent between 1990 and 2015.

Poverty and lack of access to prenatal care remain barriers to many expectant Mothers in Nigeria. Traditionally, children are born at home. If problems arise, the Mother and child are at risk of death. The Nigerian government is continuing its efforts to reduce maternal deaths by collaborating with the United States and GE to provide prenatal care and reduce the risks to Mothers and their unborn children.