By Muhammad Amaan
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services, Hon. Dr Amos Gwamna Magaji, has visited Borno State on legislative oversight and advocacy.
Borno State is one of the four Zero Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH) focus states, alongside Bauchi, Kano and Sokoto.
Health Reporters Newspaper reports that it is a major milestone following the 𝙇𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙨 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 from the Zero Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH) Legislative Retreat.
The visit, which also included the ZDLH/AHBN Borno Team Lead, Dr. Adamu Alhassan Umar, marked the first official engagement by the National Assembly in assessing the burden of zero-dose children in the ZDLH states.
The delegation was received by the Borno State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Baba Malam Gana, and other key state health stakeholders who provided critical insights into the state’s immunization challenges, BHCPF implementation, and ongoing health sector reforms.
Hon. Amos said, “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺.”
He added that, “𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴: 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘻𝘦𝘳𝘰-𝘥𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯; 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯.”
The committee members pledged to champion timely releases of BHCPF from the NPHCDA and advocate for an upward review of the 1% consolidated revenue allocation to 2%.
The team also on facility tours visited the Borno State University College of Medicine and Teaching Hospital alongside Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, and the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate.
There was also an advocacy visit to the Palace of Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Kyari Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, which added depth to the mission.
There was also the presentation of the 2024 Immunization Budget Accountability Scorecard, reinforcing the evidence-based advocacy approach that ZDLH continues to champion in Nigeria’s immunization landscape.
