Group appeals for release of N1bn for basic healthcare in Jigawa

The Jigawa State Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Accountability Forum (JiMAF) has appealed to the state’s governor, Malam Umar Namadi, for the immediate release of the one billion Naira approved under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHPF) program for the additional 149,240 poor and less privileged persons recently enrolled in the program.

This appeal was contained in a communique issued after two days of review meetings organized by JiMAF, supported by the Lafiya UK Program, at Hasina Confectionary and Restaurants. It was signed by the JiMAF secretary, Comrade Isah Mustapha, and made available to Online Tribune in Dutse, the state capital, to ensure the newly enrolled start enjoying free healthcare services across 287 political wards of the state.

In the communique, JiMAF urges the governor to speed up the release of the money for the enrollment exercise to enable the targeted beneficiaries, amounting to 149,240, to access healthcare services.

According to the communique, “We believe these actions will enhance the state’s commitment toward achieving universal health coverage.”

Comrade Isah Mustapha noted, “We also commend the governor for approving the sum of one billion Naira for the enrollment of an additional 149,240 poor and less privileged persons across the 287 wards and for allocating 12.1% of its 2024 annual budget to the health sector.

“This organization is using this medium to appreciate the State Government for the passage of the revised Jigawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency bill into law. We believe this will strengthen the Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) and promote equitable distribution of human resources for health and improve service delivery.”

The communique disclosed that an analysis of the first quarter of this year’s budget performance by JiMAF has revealed abysmal budget performance across the MDAs in the health sector.

“This is affecting the state government’s desire to make basic healthcare services accessible and affordable for all people, regardless of their economic and geographical locations.”

The communique expressed the need to improve budget releases across the sector.

JiMAF commends all development partners for supporting the state in improving health indices and calls on other stakeholders to support monitoring and ensure the judicious utilization of the fund when released.

The participants in the review reaffirmed that JiMAF will continue to collaborate with the government and other partners towards the overall development of the state.

JiMAF is a conglomeration of different Civil Society Organizations, Media, and Government representatives working to facilitate the reduction of maternal and child morbidity and mortality to the barest minimum.

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