Kaduna awarded best-performing state in primary healthcare in north-west

Kaduna has emerged as the best-performing state in primary healthcare in the north-west.

Kaduna achieved the feat at the 2024 Primary Health Care (PHC) Leadership Challenge on Thursday in Abuja.

The award recognised Kaduna’s “significant investments and strategic approach to improving public health infrastructure and service delivery”.

Hadiza Balarabe, the deputy governor, who received the award and a cash prize of $500,000, said it is a testimony of Uba Sani’s commitment to healthcare investments and leadership.

“For Kaduna State, the award represents more than just financial recognition. It stands as a testament to the state’s dedicated health team and their tireless efforts to enhance healthcare services for residents,’’ a statement by the state government quoted Balarabe as saying.

“The $500,000 cash prize is expected to further support Kaduna State’s ongoing healthcare initiatives and continued improvements in primary healthcare delivery.”

The challenge was launched in 2022 by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) in collaboration with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) and supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, and the Aliko Dangote Foundation.

The initiative evaluates governance, leadership, and commitment to PHC by governors across the 36 states and the FCT.

Other zonal winners include Kwara (north-central), Rivers (south-south), Osun (south-west), and Yobe (north-east).

Anambra, which won the south-east category, also emerged as the state with the best overall primary healthcare in Nigeria.

The challenge is designed to catalyse state governors’ implementation of the Seattle Declaration and renew political commitments to improve PHC outcomes.

“The Seattle Declaration is a set of commitments made by Executive Governors towards prioritizing primary healthcare in their respective states and thereby accelerating the attainment of universal health coverage in the country. The NGF adopted the Seattle Declaration at the November 2019 National Executive Council meeting,” information on the NGF website reads.