Kaduna: We’ve spent N121.3bn on health sector in five years

The Kaduna state government says it has spent N121.3 billion on the health sector in the last five years.

Hadiza Balarabe, deputy governor of the state, disclosed this at the 2021 graduation of the third cohort of the Health Leadership Academy (HLA).

Balarabe said the investments are aimed at ensuring better outcomes in the health sector of Kaduna state.

According to a statement by the government, she said Kaduna is committed to guaranteeing the health and wellbeing of all its citizens as access to healthcare is a basic human right.

“For us as a government, health care is not only fundamental to any human development, but a basic right for every citizen and we are committed to deliver on this,” she said.

“Since 2016, the state has maintained a budgetary allocation of 16% and above for the health sector, devoting the sum of N 121.36bn in the five years of this administration.”

She added that the budgetary allocation has enabled the state “to implement healthcare programmes, expand healthcare infrastructure, increase staff strength, expand access and improve the quality of healthcare services across all levels”.

The deputy governor noted that the investment in the sector shows the state government’s commitment towards guaranteeing improved access to quality healthcare for the people.

She congratulated the participants of the programme, and commended the HLA for creating the platform for leadership capacity development for the nation’s health sector.

The HLA is a non-governmental institution focused on developing leaders as part of efforts to improve capacity and bridge the gaps in health systems across Africa.