Governance for the responsible strengthening of the wellbeing of citizens is pivotal to the solidification of health systems globally. Accountability being fundamental in the positive responsiveness of health systems in Nigeria has been feeble and in a bid to strengthen maternal health and child care via accountability interventions in Kano, the Center for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) launched phase 4 of the Promotion of Democratic Participation project in Kano today.
The project which seeks to reduce maternal and child mortality in two local government areas through improving inclusion, transparency and accountability in planning and management of health budgets and programmes in the state, will have individuals at the grassroots be focal to the realisation of the projects’ goals.
The implementation of the project will be carried out with key policymakers and agencies in the state’s ministry of health and their counterparts in Gwale and Kumbotso local government areas of the state. Through voluntary service charters and monitoring of the implementation of extant laws, the Civic organization will synergize with the communities to keep track of key health outcomes as they affect the project target groups.
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Explaining how maternal and child mortality would be mitigated Comrade Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi the Executive Director of CHRICED explained that collaborations would be cemented with health professionals, community associations and community leaders to generate a model for improving health interventions that can be adopted by the state government and simulated across the state.
“Asides from the awareness of their rights and responsibilities which citizens be educated on, the project will push for best practices, transparent approaches and the adoption of open government models to deepen transparency and accountability in the utilization of maternal health resources.
“Although the problem of maternal mortality cuts across income divides, it is nevertheless predominantly a problem of low-income groups since women belonging to high-income groups are better able to access maternal healthcare information and higher-quality maternal care services. Further, this category of women face high unemployment rate, with its corresponding effect on their abilities to make economic, and by extension, crucial health decision.” Comr. Zikirullahi said.
Going by the realities faced by the disadvantaged and marginalized groups in the society, CHRICED urged major stakeholders to work for the efficiency and effectiveness of the government’s spending on maternal, newborn and child healthcare in Kano State.
Consequently, the project is hence anchored on the key element of accountability. As such, it shifts the focus to development by people and not development for people. At the core of this project, therefore, the key principles of participation and empowerment are vital.
