Sokoto NGO seeks stronger LG commitment to maternal, child healthcare

By Animashaun Salman

The NANA Girls and Women Empowerment Initiative has called for stronger commitment from local government councils in Sokoto State to sustain investments in child and maternal healthcare through community-led accountability.

The call was made on Wednesday during the Quarterly Accountability Dialogue Meeting on the Integrated Child Survival Advocacy at the Last Mile, which brought together local government chairmen, directors of health, finance officials and community advocacy groups to review progress and address challenges affecting primary healthcare service delivery.

Speaking on behalf of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria in Sokoto State, the Chairman of Shagari Local Government, Maidawa Kajiji, who represented the ALGON Chairman and Chairman of Tambuwal Local Government, Alhaji Abba Shehu, reaffirmed the association’s commitment to supporting the initiative.

According to him, the programme had provided local government authorities with a clearer understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of primary healthcare centres across participating councils.

“ALGON is fully committed to the attainment of the goals and objectives of the NANA Girls and Women Empowerment Initiative because this initiative is aimed at strengthening healthcare facilities at the grassroots level,” he said.

He noted that presentations during the meeting highlighted both the progress made and the challenges confronting primary healthcare centres.

“We have seen where progress has been made and where there are still challenges.

“Our responsibility is to ensure that these gaps are addressed so that our primary healthcare centres become more humane and comfortable places for healthcare delivery,” Kajijj added.

He assured participants that local government chairmen would continue to provide the necessary support to achieve the objectives of the initiative and complement the healthcare agenda of Governor Ahmed Aliyu.

The Sokoto State Team Lead for the ICSA project, Habiba Umar, said the dialogue was designed to review findings from community-based monitoring of health facilities conducted over the past three months.

She explained that the project established Local Advocacy Teams, comprising community members, to identify gaps in health service delivery, particularly those affecting children and pregnant women.

“This activity aims to identify gaps in service delivery at our health facilities and ensure that issues affecting children and pregnant women are addressed,” she said.

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According to Umar, the quarterly dialogue provides an opportunity for advocacy teams to present their findings directly to local government chairmen, directors of health and finance officials.

“We invite key stakeholders because the goal is to ensure that every child receives the healthcare support they deserve. Issues ranging from shortage of drugs to infrastructure deficiencies are presented to the chairmen so that practical solutions and funding can be provided,” she added.

She disclosed that while some challenges had already been resolved through collaboration between the advocacy teams and local health authorities, others would require intervention from local government councils.

Also speaking, the Executive Director of NANA Girls and Women Empowerment Initiative, Dr Fatima Adamu, described the ICSA project as a community-driven advocacy initiative designed to bridge the gap between government leaders and citizens on health issues.

“The project is purely an advocacy programme. We believe it is the community that should advocate for improved services, not us. That is why we established the Local Health Advocacy and Accountability groups,” she said.

She explained that the groups visit health facilities, identify service delivery challenges and present their findings during quarterly dialogue sessions.

“The whole essence is to bring our communities and their leaders together to discuss health issues and find solutions. Accountability means ensuring that citizens can engage directly with those responsible for providing healthcare services,” Adamu said.

She expressed satisfaction with the progress recorded since the project began, noting that relationships between local government chairmen and directors of health had improved significantly.

“When we met in February, many chairmen admitted they did not know what was happening in the health sector in their local governments. Today, they are communicating, working together and resolving many of the issues identified,” she said.

Adamu added that issues beyond the capacity of local governments would be referred to the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, whose commissioner had pledged support.

She also revealed plans to involve members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly in subsequent meetings to ensure health priorities identified through the dialogue are reflected in local government budgets.

The Integrated Child Survival Advocacy at the Last Mile project is currently being implemented by the NANA Girls and Women Empowerment Initiative in Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Kano and Kaduna states to strengthen accountability and improve access to quality maternal and child healthcare services at the grassroots level.

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