Pulse.ng : 2025

By Stella Kabruk

The Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, has reaffirmed the state's commitment to improving maternal and child health outcomes.

She stated this while declaring open a five-day workshop on Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiatives (MAMII) on Monday in Kaduna.

Balarabe said the state government, under the leadership of Governor Uba Sani, has prioritized maternal and child health as a cornerstone of its development agenda. Kaduna State budgets a minimum of 15% of its total expenditure to healthcare, meeting the Abuja Declaration commitment.

She said the state has also commenced distribution of free essential medicines to all Local Government Areas, and thirteen general hospitals are being rehabilitated and re-equipped, with one already completed.

She added that the 255 Primary Healthcare Centers are being upgraded to Level Two status, and the state's Health Supplies Management Agency warehouse has been upgraded to Pharma-grade standards.

Balarabe disclosed that the government has approved the recruitment of 1,800 health workers over the next four years to bolster the frontline health workforce.

She a also said that a 300-bed specialist hospital dedicated to obstetric and neonatal care is also nearing completion, with the required equipment already procured.

She expressed gratitude to development partners, including WHO and UNICEF, for their support and commitment to maternal and child health in Kaduna State.

She urged participants to engage deeply and focus on charting a way forward to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.

She noted that the workshop aims to leverage local realities, available data, and community partnerships to implement life-saving interventions.

Balarabe emphasized that the success of the initiative depends on a full understanding of its components and stakeholder responsibilities.

Earlier, the State's Commissioner of Health, Hajiya Umma Ahmed, said the workshop, championed by the Federal Ministry of Health and supported by a coalition of partners, represents a shared national commitment to ending the tragic and preventable loss of mothers and newborns across the country.

She emphasised the state government's commitment to maternal and child health, citing initiatives such as the Kaduna State Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System, onboarded in September 2024, and improved referral systems.

She said the efforts, aimed to remove structural and financial barriers to accessing timely care for pregnant women and newborns, laying the groundwork for lasting and sustainable changes.

While acknowledging encouraging results, the Commissioner noted that more needs to be done due to enormous challenges.

She expressed gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Health and development partners for their steadfast support and investment.

She explained that the workshop aims to co-design practical, scalable solutions rooted in the realities of communities, focusing on demand generation, strengthening the supply side, and financial protection.

The Commissioner hopes that the gathering would serve as a turning point in the collective mission to protect the lives of mothers and newborns in Kaduna State and across Nigeria.