The Kano State government, under the ministry of health, state primary healthcare management board SPHMB, with support from Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation BMGF, and TAC Connect, in partnership with Options consultancy agency, has organized a co-creation meeting session for two days to brainstorm and come up with a realistic policy framework that would provide an enabling environment and help agencies, donors, and policymakers tackle the rate of maternal, neonatal, and child mortality in Kano and introduce some new innovations to scale up the gap in the system.
The meeting, which was held in Tahir Guest Palace Kano, was graced by the State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Mal Musa Tanko, the Director General of the State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Nasir Muhammad, and the Emir of Kano, represented by the district head of Dala, representatives of the ministries of finance and budget, respectively, donors and partners.
The chairman of the occasion, Dr. Nasir Muhammad, led the discussion. In his opening remarks, the DG thanked the partners of this wonderful project, BMGF, TAC, and Options, for their commitment to accelerate health care development and improve the lives of women and children in Kano.
He equally appreciates the effort of the various participants from various donor agencies for the zeal they have been showing to improve health care delivery in Kano and the nation at large.
ALSO READ: PHOTOS: Obi storms Kano for wedding of Bichi, Kano emirs’ children
Earlier in his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry of health, who represents the commissioner of health, Dr. Labaran, described the gathering as an epoch, timely, and important for the state government’s commitment in its effort to improve healthcare management in the state.
Mal Musa Abubakar said that the “issue of maternal and child mortality in Kano is of great concern for all the relevant stakeholders in Kano State.” He therefore called on the participants to look at the issue critically and come up with befitting policy documents that would ease the application of these new innovations in the state.
The permanent secretary thanks the partners for partnering with Kano on crucial areas of the healthcare system that demand the support and commitment of all stakeholders.
In his goodwill message, the Emir of Kano, represented by the district head of Dala, Alh. Abdullahi Lamido Sunusi, thanks the donors and the state government who found Kano worth this great intervention in improving maternal and neonatal health care issues.
Abdullahi Lamido said, “Kano Emirate has been at the forefront of ensuring women, especially pregnant ones, attend antenatal care services in the state.” The district head described what they are doing to promote maternal health issues in his constituency, Dala. He said the Emirate is already involved in the supervision to ascertain the number of pregnant women who are attending the antenatal service before and after delivery. He said to ensure this was achieved, “we established a register, which we used to monitor the level of compliance among our constituents.”
He said the Kano Emirate is always ready to support and champion any commitment aimed at reducing the menace of maternal and child birth mortality in Kano and beyond.
In their address, one of the major funders of the project, Melinda Gate Foundation express gratitude to all participants and stakeholders, such as Kanslam, UNICEF, WHO, and the Kano State government via the Ministry of Health, traditional rulers, and SPHMB, for their zeal and efforts they have shown to improve the maternal health issues in Kano.
While TAC Connect technical director Dr. Olayiwola Jaiyeola, in his remarks, appreciated the state government, Kano Emirate Council, and participants for the role they played in the actualization of this great project,.
Olayiwola expressed happiness to be back in Kano to advance the healthcare system, especially maternal, neonatal, and child mortality.
He said, ‘’We are here now to scale up innovations aimed at reducing the rate of maternal and child mortality in Kano. He tasked the ministry of health and the state primary health care management board with the need to sustain relationships with the partners in the actualization of these innovations’’.
According to Options, the project is to be run concurrently throughout 2024 and 2025. While BMGF and TAC Connect serve as the main donors, the Options consultancy is to implement the project smoothly in collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders in the health sector of the state.
The participants were grouped into 4 groups and involved key stakeholders in a critical discussion on how to integrate the innovations into existing antenatal care services and how the project should kick off to ensure effective coordination, resource allocation, and implementation.
At the end of the meeting, they are expected to create a comprehensive work plan for the project.
