Health
Kaduna govt deepens partnership with LGAs on primary healthcare.
Kaduna State government has intensified efforts to strengthen primary healthcare delivery by domesticating the Open Government Partnership (OGP) framework across its 23 local government areas.
The commitment was reaffirmed on Monday at the opening of a three-day orientation workshop for local government chairpersons and key stakeholders in Kaduna.
Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Health, Umma Ahmed, said sustainable improvements in health outcomes could only be achieved when governance systems are open, inclusive, responsive and accountable to the people they serve.
Ms Ahmed said the state has remained a leading sub-national government in Nigeria’s OGP journey through the implementation of State Action Plans, which have recorded notable achievements in fiscal transparency, citizen engagement, procurement reforms, and social accountability.
The commissioner noted that the local government is the foundation of Primary Health Care delivery, and that it is at this level that communities interact most directly with government.
She said the domestication of OGP at the local government level offers several opportunities, which include transparency and citizens’ access to information.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mukhtar Ahmed, said their core mandate is to ensure that every kobo spent by the government translates into tangible, sustainable development for citizens.
Mr Ahmed said the training workshop would guide the trainees through the practical mechanics of setting up LGA-level permanent dialogue mechanisms, also known as the OGP Steering Committees.
“These structures will bring government officials and civil society representatives to the same table to co-create your first Local Government Action Plans (LGAPs),” he said.
“We are intentionally focusing this rollout on primary healthcare service delivery. This is because health is the foundation of human capital development.”
According to him, open governance would help improve primary healthcare financing, strengthen resource tracking and ensure that investments translate into better outcomes for vulnerable women and children across the state’s 23 LGAs.
Delivering a goodwill message on behalf of development partners, Anthony Shamang said the OGP initiative provided a framework for engaging communities and ensuring that health services remained accessible and responsive to citizens’ needs.
He urged local government leaders to embrace open governance principles to foster trust, participation and accountability.
“By working together, we can create an environment where citizens are informed, involved and able to hold their leaders accountable for the quality of health services provided,” Mr Shamang said.
Also speaking, Ekanem Isichei, the deputy director of communications at the Gates Foundation, commended the Kaduna State for bringing local government chairmen together to move OGP from principle to practice, with a clear focus on strengthening primary health care.
He said ultimately, plans or committees will not judge OGP, but by whether resources reach facilities and services that impact the people.
“This means setting clear, measurable priorities in your budgets—and aligning spending to PHC outcomes, not just line items.
“Tracking releases and utilisation of funds regularly, to ensure what is planned is actually delivered.” Mr Isichei said.
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He urged participants to develop plans by identifying two to three financing or service delivery bottlenecks they will fix within the next 12 months and to track them publicly.
“If each LGA does this well, Kaduna State will not just implement OGP, it will demonstrate what accountable, results-driven governance looks like in practice.
He also reaffirmed the foundation’s support for the state in strengthening health financing, accountability and service delivery systems.
The federal government has distributed drugs, ambulances, and emergency obstetric and newborn care equipment worth approximately ₦10 billion to health facilities in Bauchi State.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, inaugurated the distribution on Saturday. Mr Pate stated that the intervention is part of federal efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery and improve maternal, newborn, and child health services across the state.
In addition to general equipment, the government has provided free delivery kits for pregnant women, alongside sexual and reproductive health commodities. According to the Minister, general hospitals and 20 primary healthcare (PHC) centres will receive essential medical equipment, while a further 20 facilities across the state’s local government areas will be supplied with drugs and other health commodities.
The equipment includes labour and delivery tools, theatre equipment for caesarean sections, neonatal intensive care technology, maternity laboratory apparatus, oxygen supplies, and blood pressure monitors. Furthermore, the government has provided 15 tricycle ambulances, six conventional ambulances, and 17,000 maternity kits for expectant mothers.
Mr Pate noted that these interventions are designed to improve access to quality healthcare for vulnerable groups, in line with the reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda”. He added that more than 45 million Nigerians are currently accessing healthcare services quarterly, supported by ongoing investments in PHC infrastructure, equipment, commodities, and human resource development.
The Minister highlighted several recent healthcare infrastructure projects in the state, including the upgrade of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Azare; the establishment of the North-East Vesicovaginal Fistula Centre in Ningi; and the ongoing expansion of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBU-TH). These interventions also include the construction and revitalisation of 100 PHCs through a collaboration between the federal and state governments.
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Mr Pate commended the state government, traditional rulers, and frontline health workers for their commitment to improving service delivery.
Representing the State Governor, Bala Mohammed, the Deputy Governor, Auwal Jatau, lauded the gesture, stating that the provision of sexual and reproductive health commodities and ambulances would significantly complement the state’s efforts to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, particularly in underserved rural communities. Mr Mohammed also pledged to ensure the effective utilisation of the equipment.
The Chief Medical Director of ATBU-TH, Yusuf Jibrin, echoed these sentiments, commending the federal government for prioritising healthcare reform and assuring that the new assets would be effectively deployed to improve services across the state.
(NAN)
The federal government has recruited no fewer than 37,000 health workers across its health institutions since 2023, a statement from the health ministry has said.
The statement signed by the Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations, Ado Bako, said that the recruitment, alongside the training of 70,000 frontline workers, was aimed at improving service delivery.
It said that the government had also approved Nigeria’s National Policy on Health Workforce Migration to address the growing challenge of skilled health professionals leaving the country.
According to Mr Bako, the policy is designed to improve workforce planning, strengthen retention and promote ethical recruitment.
“These actions are supported by the National Health Workforce Registry and continued investments in specialist training and workforce development,” he added.
He also highlighted progress under the revised Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF 2.0), describing it as a key driver of improved primary healthcare delivery.
He said the federal government had approved N32.9 billion under the revised framework to support no fewer than 8,300 Primary Health Centres, with expansion ongoing to have 13,000 facilities nationwide.
According to him, the government’s health reforms have contributed to 80 million patient visits, while over 21 million vulnerable Nigerians have accessed healthcare through the Vulnerable Groups Health Insurance Fund.
He added that disease surveillance and outbreak preparedness were also being strengthened through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention gateway under the BHCPF.
On access to medicines, the ministry said the government was expanding local pharmaceutical manufacturing through the Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain.
“The objective is simple: strengthen local production, improve medicine security and make essential medicines more available and affordable for Nigerians,” he said.
Mr Bako said the reforms also covered investments in health infrastructure, maternal and newborn health, emergency preparedness, digital health systems and accountability.
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He said that as of the 2025 Joint Annual Review, 84 per cent of the key performance indicators under the Presidential Health Sector Renewal Compact had been achieved.
According to him, while significant challenges remain, the government has continued to pursue sustained reforms rather than deny existing gaps.
“Nigeria’s health sector still faces significant challenges, and government has never suggested otherwise.
“Lasting reforms, however, are measured not by rhetoric, but by sustained action, transparent implementation and measurable results,” he said.
The statement reaffirmed the government’s commitment to working with healthcare professionals, civil society, development partners, the private sector and everyone to build a stronger and more resilient health system.
“Our mandate remains clear: save lives, reduce both physical and financial pain, and improve the health and well-being of all Nigerians,” the statement said.
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