Redesign your health policy, spending – CSO tells Jigawa govt

Comrade Isah Mustapha, the Executive Director of the Exceptional Leadership and Integrity Promotion Initiative (ELIP), has disclosed that health facilities in Jigawa State have reported that 75% of the disease burden and deaths can be effectively addressed at the primary health care level. He made this statement during a session with the newly appointed Special Advisers and Assistants on health to the Jigawa State governor, Malam Umar Namadi, organized by Jigawa Maternal Accountability Forum (JIMAF).

Mustapha highlighted that the Jigawa State Government had allocated ₦163 billion for the health sector from 2015 to 2022, with only ₦112 billion released. Of this amount, ₦65 billion was spent on salary and allowances, while ₦46 billion was allocated to capital projects. He emphasized that the primary health sector received insufficient attention compared to the secondary and tertiary sectors, suggesting that prioritizing primary healthcare could avert 75% of deaths.

He called for a redesign of the state’s health policy and spending to give more emphasis to the primary health sector, aiming to enhance basic healthcare services’ accessibility and affordability. The Special Advisers to the governor on Health, led by Alhaji Isiyaku Sabo, pledged to make concerted efforts to improve public healthcare services delivery.