Public Health Administration and Maternal Mortality Reduction in Katsina State

This study examines the public health administration strategies employed to reduce maternal mortality in Katsina State, located in Nigeria's North West geopolitical zone, one of the states with the highest maternal mortality ratios in Africa. Despite federal and state government investments in maternal and child health programmes, progress in reducing maternal deaths has been inadequate relative to targets set in Nigeria's national health strategic plans. A professional survey design is employed, with data collected from 160 public health administrators, midwives, community health extension workers (CHEWs), and women's group leaders across six local government areas. Both quantitative and qualitative data are analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic coding. The Health Systems Strengthening Framework provides the conceptual lens, examining how governance, financing, healthcare delivery, and community engagement interact to determine maternal health outcomes. Findings reveal that skilled birth attendance rates remain low due to inadequate midwife staffing in rural primary health centres, poor referral pathway functionality, and socio-cultural barriers including traditional birth attendant reliance and male-gated healthcare decision-making. Targeted recommendations include emergency obstetric care training for primary health facility staff, community-level male engagement programmes to support antenatal care uptake, and the strengthening of the maternal death surveillance and response system. Keywords: public health administration, maternal mortality, Katsina State, maternal health, health systems.