Since assuming office, Governor Umar Namadi has demonstrated unwavering commitment to improving healthcare services, ensuring access, and reducing the burden of poverty on the people of Jigawa State.
Under his leadership, Jigawa’s health infrastructure was enhanced because he has prioritised the development of healthcare facilities across the state to ensure quality and accessible services for all.
Jigawa prioritises maternal and child health services with immunization coverage of 62%, one of the best in the country. The state government is optimising 67 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) by providing security fence, 24/7 solar-powered water and power scheme with well-furnished staff quarters to enhance retention of human resources for health.
The administration has begun the construction of new general hospitals in Kafin Hausa, a University Community and Ringim, the only emirate headquarters without a befitting hospital to address the gap in secondary healthcare.
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Currently, there is ongoing work at two specialist hospitals in Hadejia and Kazaure, to ensure Jigawa State meets its tertiary healthcare needs.
Under the administration, Jigawa is also facilitating the revitalization of additional 114 apex PHCs under the IMPACT Project to further improve healthcare delivery at the grassroots.
Governor Namadi recognises the critical importance of human resources in healthcare delivery and has made significant investments in this area by approving the implementation of the federal salary scale for Jigawa State health workers with effect from December 2024 to boost staff morale.
The construction of a new School of Nursing and Midwifery in Hadejia will increase the state’s training capacity, with three schools of nursing and three schools of midwifery, Jigawa will inject an additional 720 health personnel annually from 2025 to Jigawa health sector, this was approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) after an accreditation was granted for 5 years to the schools.
The government has recruited 924 PHC workers, 200 senior health workers, 250 midwives, and an additional 1,000 essential PHC workers. Furthermore, 250 midwives were absorbed into the state civil service as provided in the GAVI MoU.
The Namadi administration has reduced the burden of poverty through healthcare financing and has championed initiatives to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare services. The sum of ₦1 billion was released to the Jigawa Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (JICHMA) to strengthen the social insurance scheme.
J-Basic Health Package is another milestone. A total of 143,500 vulnerable individuals (500 from each of the 287 wards) now receive free healthcare services under this initiative.
Health Camps: Over 3,000 surgeries have been conducted free of charge as part of health camps initiated to address critical health needs across the state.
The Namadi administration invested about ₦500 million allocated for the procurement of nutritional supplement to combat malnutrition among children.
The administration has also embarked on the establishment of free dialysis centres in Kazaure, Gumel, Ringim and Dutse while the existing one in Hadejia has been upgraded. Non- communicable diseases patients are given free treatment. This cover residents suffering from hypertension, diabetes, sickle cell disease and cancer.
Governor Namadi’s administration has enacted critical laws and reforms to strengthen the legal and policy frameworks to institutionalize healthcare improvements. Under his visionary leadership, Jigawa State is experiencing a healthcare revolution. These bold strides reflect Mr Namadi’s dedication to improving the lives of the people through accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare services.
*Malam Isa Surajo, Technical Adviser to the Governor of Jigawa State on Health
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