By Aminu Garko
Kano, The Kano State Government said it had achieved about 90 per cent of its healthcare blueprint within three years of the Abba Kabir Yusuf administration.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists in Kano on the sector’s achievements.
Labaran said the government had fully implemented the Abuja Declaration on Health, demonstrating its commitment to improving service delivery across the state.
He said the administration sanitised admissions into health training institutions by introducing a digital process, which eliminated fraud that previously cost the state more than N1billion.
The government had also revived the training and retraining of healthcare personnel, restoring professionalism and credibility in the sector, he said.
Labaran said several health-related courses had secured accreditation from regulatory bodies, and opportunities had been created for medical doctors to advance to consultant status.
He said the measures had strengthened healthcare institutions and improved service delivery.
The commissioner said maternal mortality was being tackled through free healthcare for pregnant women, including free caesarean sections in more than 30 government hospitals.
He said more than N60 million was spent monthly to sustain the programme and ensure access to quality maternal care.
Ambulances had been provided to all 44 local government areas to support emergency services, particularly for pregnant women in labour.
He added that 484 mini ambulances had been procured for distribution to all wards to address transportation challenges during emergencies.
Labaran said 320 primary healthcare centres had been rehabilitated, and the government was working to ensure every ward had a functional centre.
Additional health personnel had been recruited through collaboration between the state and federal governments and deployed to the facilities.
He said the government was also strengthening secondary healthcare services across the 44 local government areas.
Drug availability in hospitals had improved significantly from 30 per cent at the start of the administration through investment and prompt payment to suppliers, he said.
The establishment of the Kano State Centre for Disease Control was another major milestone, he said, noting that it had enhanced the state’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health emergencies.
Labaran reaffirmed the government’s commitment to sustaining investments to ensure accessible, affordable and quality healthcare for all residents.