Kano health programmes focused on pregnant women, children under five – Commissioner

The Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, says the state government’s health programmes are focused on improving the wellbeing of vulnerable groups, particularly pregnant women and children under the age of five.

He stated this on Friday during a joint mid-year review of the state’s Annual Operational Plan (AOP), where government officials and development partners assessed the performance of health programmes in the first and second quarters of the year and made plans for the remaining months.

According to the commissioner, the review was aimed at evaluating achievements so far, identifying areas where progress had been slow, and making informed decisions to improve performance in the third and fourth quarters.

“We are here to carry out what we call a joint annual review. We look at our performance in the first and second quarters based on our Annual Operational Plan. We assess what we have achieved, what is left and why. That will help us take the right decisions for the remaining quarters of the year,” he said.

Dr Yusuf said the state government was working towards achieving at least 80 per cent budget performance in the health sector by the end of the year.

He noted that the review brought together development partners and stakeholders to assess key health programmes, including reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, immunisation, malaria control, logistics management, and treatment services.

“We are going to look at reproductive, maternal and newborn child health. We are also reviewing immunisation, logistics management, treatment units, malaria performance and other key areas that will help us understand how the health sector is performing,” he said.

Speaking on the government’s commitment to healthcare, the commissioner urged residents to continue supporting government programmes.

He stressed that the initiatives were designed to improve the lives of the most vulnerable members of society.

“Our message to the public is for them to show us more understanding, pray for the government and accept the programmes we introduce during the year and beyond,” he said.

“All the programmes are targeted mainly at vulnerable people, pregnant women and children under the age of five. These are our main targets because we want to make life easier and better for them across the state,” he said.