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.
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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.
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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.
