FG, Gates Foundation applaud Gombe governor for healthcare advancements

The Federal Government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have commended Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya for his administration’s efforts to strengthen the state’s healthcare system, particularly through increased budgetary allocations and the revitalization of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) and other public health facilities.

The commendation was delivered during a courtesy visit to Gombe State by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, and Chris Elias, President of Global Development at the Gates Foundation.

The visit was part of their continued engagement with state governments following the adoption of a sector-wide approach for the implementation of the National Health Sector Reform Implementation Initiative (NHSRII), recently launched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Prof. Pate highlighted the strides Gombe has made in healthcare under Governor Yahaya’s leadership. He noted significant improvements between the 2018 and 2023 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) results, including:

• A 100% increase in delivery by skilled birth attendants (19% to 38%)
• A 78% increase in children receiving the first dose of the Penta vaccine
• A 131% increase in children receiving the third dose of the Penta vaccine (26% to 60%)
• A 170% rise in the proportion of fully immunized children
• An 88% increase in modern contraceptive prevalence (16% to 30%)

“These achievements are a testament to Governor Yahaya’s leadership and his administration’s commitment,” Prof. Pate said. He praised the Governor for increasing the state’s health budget by 82% year-on-year since 2023 and making Gombe a model for other states to emulate.

Chris Elias, representing the Gates Foundation, also praised the state’s healthcare reforms, which have improved access to quality healthcare.

“We have been following Gombe’s progress closely, and our visit here is to learn from these achievements and identify further areas for collaboration,” Elias said.

Governor Yahaya, in response, detailed the state of the healthcare sector when he assumed office in 2019, noting a meager 3.5% budget allocation, dilapidated infrastructure, and insufficient manpower. He declared a state of emergency in healthcare upon taking office and launched several key reforms.

“Our administration conducted a comprehensive needs assessment and set up a task force to strengthen primary healthcare. We revitalized PHCs across the state and upgraded healthcare facilities in each senatorial zone to improve secondary healthcare access,” Yahaya said.

He highlighted the establishment of the Go-Health scheme, which provides coverage to 354,000 residents, including 100,000 vulnerable and displaced persons.

Other milestones include the creation of a Hospital Management Board, the Drugs and Medical Consumables Management Agency, and partnerships with UNICEF and the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) to tackle malnutrition.

Yahaya also outlined efforts to address manpower shortages, such as retaining 46 indigenous doctors for internships, recruiting 440 Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs), expanding the state’s School of Nursing to accommodate 1,000 students, and plans to develop the Gombe State University medical college.

“We are committed to transforming the healthcare sector and ensuring quality service delivery for all residents of Gombe,” Yahaya said.

He assured continued collaboration with the Federal Government and development partners to improve healthcare outcomes. “We will sustain and expand our partnerships to ensure our people have access to quality and affordable healthcare services,” he concluded.

The visit concluded with renewed pledges of support from the Federal Government and the Gates Foundation for ongoing initiatives to further improve healthcare delivery in Gombe State.