By Muhammad Amaan
The Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN) has led supporting partners to an advocacy visit to the Director of Human Resource at the Kano State Ministry of Health, in efforts towards improving healthcare services in the state.
The visit was part of AHBN efforts to strengthen accountability for women’s health and support the state with data driven approach to improve health indices of the state especially around Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH), Family Planning (FP) Services and Immunization.
During the visit, the AHBN Team was led by Advocacy and Accountability Specialist, Malam Aqibu Hamisu, alongside Salisu Yusuf of the Accountability Mechanism for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health in Kano State (AMMKas), AHBN’s Knowledge Management Officer, Malam Sulaiman Jalo and Amina Haladu, Mubarak Baba Ahmad from Youth Society for the Prevention of Infectious Diseases and Social Vices (YOSPIS), Nafisa Shehu from the Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR) and Aftahana Dahiru Sarina from Vulnerable People Support and Development Initiative (V-Pesdi).
In a remark, Salisu Yusuf told the director that the visit was to intimate him about AHBN’s efforts and commitment towards supporting the state to achieve FP2030 Commitments by facilitating increase funding and releases for FP service, procurement of commodities and full integration of FP services by the Kano State Contributory Health Management Agency (KASCHMA).
On his part, Malam Aqibu Hamisu noted that Human Resource for Health is an indispensable component for effective provision of FP services.
He said there is inadequate number of trained personnel who can provide FP services, especially at the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) level.
Malam Hamisu called on the ministry through the Director Human Resource to initiate process of getting more health workers, who can bridge the FP and MNCH services gaps for improve health conditions of women and children.
In her remarks, the Director Human Resource, Dr Sa’adatu Saleh commended the AHBN efforts in supporting the state to achieve its objectives in the health sector.
She disclosed that the state secondary health facilities have trained personnel who are providing the FP services, noting that the issue of inadequate staff is usually at the PHCs level.
Dr Sa’adatu emphasized on the need to carry out a thorough analysis of the manpower at PHCs level, so as to have a clear understanding of the shortage for evidence-based advocacy engagement.
She also urged the team to support the newly renamed department in developing data based for all the personnel working under the Ministry of Health, to ease coordination and streamline data-based systems and decision making.
Delivering goodwill message and vote of thanks, Malam Sulaiman Jalo commended the director for granting audience to the team.
He told the director that the AHBN is open for partnership and collaboration with the state’s Ministry of Health.
