Breaking: Kaduna Health System Booms a Year After Top Ranking, $500,000 Prize

One year after being ranked the best-performing state in the North-West for functional healthcare delivery, Kaduna State’s health system has surged into an era of accelerated expansion and results-driven reform. It would be recalled that its victory in healthcare delivery made it 2024 North-West winner of the PHC Leadership Challenge Award and the recipient of a $500,000 prize.

Investigations revealed that the award is the first in a string of validations for a health sector that has undergone a quiet reform — grounded in infrastructure renewal, workforce strengthening, smart budgeting, and improved access to care.

From city centres to rural outposts, over 1,000 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across Kaduna are now functional, with the state achieving a new benchmark with these facilities — one in each ward — upgraded to full Level-2 status.

Investigations further reveled that the Level-2 PHCs mark a significant shift from basic first aid stations to primary care hubs. Each facility is equipped with at least thirteen rooms, perimeter fencing, solar power, a borehole for clean water, and climate-resilient features — all tailored to ensure uninterrupted service delivery.

The PHCs now handle a broader range of conditions such as uncomplicated diabetes, hypertension, pneumonia, sickle cell crises, peptic ulcers, and enteric fever. In addition, they are staffed and equipped to carry out minor surgical procedures, provide emergency care for asthma and snake bites, while delivering diagnostics once only available in secondary hospitals.

Premarital counselling, laboratory services like full blood count, electrolytes and creatinine tests, genotype screening, specimen analysis, and abdominal ultrasounds are also now part of the PHC offerings, reducing the pressure on general hospitals and providing convenience for thousands of households.

Alongside the PHC upgrades, the state has so far successfully revitalised 13 previously neglected General Hospitals, injecting life back into secondary health infrastructure that had been dormant in some cases for over two decades.

Kaduna’s performance in the 2024 PHC Leadership Challenge — a rigorous competition backed by development partners and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum — was assessed across five critical indicators: budgetary commitment and timely fund releases, frequency and effectiveness of the State Task Force on PHC meetings, facility readiness in terms of infrastructure and personnel, uninterrupted health commodity supplies, and patient satisfaction.

Findings revealed that Kaduna emerged the clear leader in the North-West, not only for ticking all the boxes, but for demonstrating a clear system of accountability and scale-up.

Under the stewardship of Governor Uba Sani, the state’s health reforms have gone beyond paper plans. The administration has prioritised health in budgeting, ensured cash backing for releases, and empowered technical teams to drive implementation at the grassroots. Regular monitoring, data tracking, and active community involvement have become hallmarks of Kaduna’s people-first approach, the findings further revealed.

“Today, the impact is undeniable. More women are delivering in health centres. More children are being immunised. More rural families now access treatment without traveling hours to urban centres. Kaduna’s system isn’t just growing — it is working”, said Moses Abraham, a health expert in Kachia area of the State.

Abraham explained thus “from being ranked to being rewarded, Kaduna has proven that with political will, sound planning and targeted investment, even long-neglected sectors like healthcare can experience a rapid, measurable boom.”.

Turning to the $500,000 prize, he said “it may be symbolic, but the real reward lies in thousands of lives now touched by a system that is finally delivering hope, access, and dignity”.

Source: Authorityngr.com | Continue to Full Story…