Bukola Afeni
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s health sector are calling on policymakers to allocate more resources to child health services, emphasizing the need for evidence based advocacy to drive progress. Experts at the Integrated Child Survival Advocacy at the Last Mile (ICSA) Project National Strategic Alignment Meeting made the disclosure in Abuja.
They stressed the importance of making critical services like immunisation and vaccination accessible to all children.
ICSA Project Lead, Dr Nihinlola Mabogunje emphasized that the initiative aims to ensure every child has a good quality of life by advocating for adequate local government funding for essential child services.
“We are not going to do the work ourselves, but we are going to advocate that resources are made available. If these resources are provided, children will have a better quality of life,” she said.
In the same vein , she added that the project will establish accountability systems at the community level through Local Accountability Delegates (LADs) to track progress and ensure funds are properly allocated.
The Head of Mission at the Center for Wellbeing and Integrated Nutrition Solutions, (C-WINS) Dr Mustafa Mahmoud noted that the ICSA project will operate in five states .
“The states are Sokoto, Kebbi, Kano, Kaduna, and Katsina, with Osun state as a comparative one”.
He disclosed that the project aims to improve healthcare systems, boost immunisation coverage, and reduce malaria-related deaths.
” We will tackle malnutrition, and increase funding for Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities across the six states.”
The Executive Director of the Nana Girls and Women Empowerment Initiative, Dr. Fatima Adamu said the project is focused on improving child survival in five focal states.
“We will work with communities influencers to ensure finances are available for child survival services, while addressing issues like immunization, malaria, malnutrition, and healthcare financing.
“To drive financing, the project aims to engage with local governments, leveraging their autonomy to prioritize health sector funding, especially for children and mothers.”
The Kano State Commissioner for Health Dr Abubakar Labaran Yusuf shared his optimism in working with the experts on the ICSA project.
“We are working to make 484 health care facilities service ready. Already, 320 facilities are receiving attention, and soon they will be fully equipped with human resources to reduce maternal mortality, improve immunisation coverage, and eliminate zero-dose cases.
“This will significantly improve the health of children and women in Kano,” he said.
The ICSA project aims to drive policy changes and community engagement to improve child health outcomes across five north-western states.
