The International Budget Partnership (IBP), Nigeria, and the Kano State Government on Saturday in Kano signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen transparency and accountability in health sector financing.

The partnership will support the development of a health financing dashboard to enable stakeholders monitor budget planning, releases, expenditure and performance across health sector agencies in the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran, said the partnership had brought significant improvements in budget planning, execution and tracking in the ministry.

Labaran said the dashboard would enable the ministry to monitor the performance of its various units and agencies in real time.

He said the state government would continue to work with IBP and other partners to improve budget performance, releases and other issues relating to health financing.

IBP Country Director, Dr Olayinka Babalola,
said the dashboard was aimed at improving transparency around health budgeting and providing a comprehensive picture of expenditure.

Represented by Policy and Strategy Lead, Onyekachi Chukwu, said Kano was already making significant investments in the health sector alongside development partners, but tracking where the funds were going had been a challenge.

According to him, the MoU will support the state in developing a health financing dashboard that will enable stakeholders to monitor expenditure by various agencies in the health sector.

He said the dashboard would also provide information on the full range of investments in the sector and show where the funds were being spent.

Babalola, said the platform would help stakeholders track reasons why certain health services were not being delivered.

He said the information would enable relevant authorities to identify gaps in service delivery and take appropriate measures to address them.

Dr Shamsuddin Sani, State Representative of the Gates Foundation in Kano, said the foundation was supporting the initiative to address longstanding challenges in monitoring fund flow within the health sector.

Sani said the project would particularly focus on primary healthcare service delivery and provide clearer information on resources coming into the sector.

He said over the years, the health sector in Kano had faced challenges in tracking the amount of funding coming into the system, how much was being spent and how much was not reaching the intended areas.

According to him, government and development partners working in the sector have not had a clear picture of the resources coming into the health system and how they are being utilised.

“With this project, we want to close that gap by ensuring that we know exactly how much resources are coming into the primary healthcare system and the broader health sector in the state,” he said.

Sani said the initiative would also help determine the resources required by the sector and compare government funding with contributions from development partners.

He said the grant for the project was conceived to address the identified gaps, adding that implementation began earlier in the year.

NAN reports that the dashboard is expected to provide stakeholders with timely information on health financing and expenditure to support better planning, monitoring and service delivery in the state.

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NAPHER-SD elects new executive members

Applauds BUK VC for support

By Ado Salisu

Nigerian Association for Physical, Health Education, Recreational, Sports and Dance NAPHER-SD has re-elected Professor Florence Bola Adeyanju for second term as it President.

The election was conducted during the association 54th annual conference and elective posts held at the Centre of Excellent, Bayero University Kano BUK.

Others re-elected include the immediate past Secretary General of Nigerian Football Federation NFF, Dr Sanusi Muhammad as first Vice President, Mr. Godspower Odedede, the second Vice President and Mr Igba Emmanuel will serve as Secretary.

The rest are Dr. Sylvester Ikuojemoye, Assistant Secretary, Dr. Joy Maiyaki, financial secretary, Professor Fraze Atare, treasurer, Dr. Ajibola Gbenga Samson, public relations officer, Dr. Musa H. Darma, Publication Secretary,
Dr Chijoke Okechukwu, auditor while Ex-officio 1 went to the chairman technical committee of Nigerian University Games Association NUGA and former chairman sports committee of Bayero University Kano BUK Professor Musa Garba Yakasai.

The conference and workshop witnessed a large turn out of members and some Vice Chancellors of Universities, researchers and observers across the country was declared open by the Vice Chancellor of Bayero University Kano BUK, Professor Haruna Musa, represented by Dr Abubakar Ibrahim Hassan.

Theme for this year’s is transparency, integrity and accountability in sports, health and education. Various papers were presented at the occasion.

Speaking shortly after the election, the re+elected president, professor Florence Bola Adeyanju expressed gratitude to the all members, pledging to continue to do her best towards the uplifting of the association in the country.

Commenting, the Ex-officio 1 and the chairman technical committee of Nigerian University Games Association NUGA, Professor Musa Garba Yakasai described the turn out of members as highly appreciated.

Professor Musa Garba Yakasai used the opportunity to thanks the BUK VC Prof Haruna Musa for supporting the association throughout the five-days conference.

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The Katsina State Government has received three upgraded Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The facilities are the MCHC Bakiyawa in Batagarawa Local Government Area (LGA), Sabon Gari PHC in Daura LGA and Dandutse PHC in Funtua LGA.

Speaking at the handover on Thursday in Bakiyawa village, the UNICEF Health Manager, Kano Field Office, Dr Serekeberehan Seyoum, said the projects were implemented with support from the Global Fund.

Seyoum said UNICEF served as the implementing partner for the renovation and upgrading of the three facilities to improve access to quality primary health care services.

He said the successful completion of the projects would improve working conditions for health workers and enhance health outcomes, particularly for women, children and other vulnerable groups.

“The facilities are now ready to provide quality health services to their respective communities,” he said.

The UNICEF official said the formal handover transferred responsibility for the management, utilisation and maintenance of the facilities to the Katsina State Primary Health Care Development Agency.

He urged the state government and relevant authorities to ensure adequate staffing, provision of essential medical supplies and routine maintenance of the facilities.

Seyoum also called for the prompt commencement and sustenance of quality service delivery to enable communities to derive maximum benefits from the investment.

He commended the Katsina State Government, the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, local government authorities, community stakeholders and the Global Fund for their support and collaboration.

According to him, UNICEF remains committed to supporting the Katsina government in strengthening its health system and improving the well-being of residents.

“We are proud to hand over these upgraded facilities and look forward to seeing them serve as centres of quality health care for communities across Katsina State,” he said.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Shaumau Abba, commended UNICEF and the Global Fund for the intervention.

Abba assured that the agency, in collaboration with the respective local government councils, would provide the necessary equipment and personnel to ensure effective service delivery at the facilities.

She pledged that the agency would ensure that residents of the benefiting communities fully utilise and benefit from the upgraded health centres.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Batagarawa Local Government Council, Alhaji Yahaya Lawal-Kawo, represented by his Vice-Chairman, Abdulrahman Ahmad, pledged the council’s commitment to the protection and maintenance of the facility.

He assured that the council would work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the people of the community benefited fully from the upgraded health centre.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the intervention is expected to strengthen the delivery of essential health services at the grassroots and improve access to quality care in the benefiting communities.

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