From Mohammed Nasir Shuaibu BAUCHI
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State on Thursday reassured USAID and other development partners working in the health sector of administration’s unwavering commitment to sustain partnership with them in an effort towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.
The Governor gave the assurance at Old Banquet hall, Government House, Bauchi during the close out ceremony of the USAID Integrated Health Program (IHP) and acknowledged the enormous benefit of the Intergrated Health Project (IHP) to the people of the state over the last 5 years of implementation.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Ibrahim Kashim, the governor said IHP has assisted significantly on strengthening health systems and improving quality of healthcare for mainly women and children under five and appreciated American government for the continued support to Bauchi State.
“I am certain that the USAID Sponsored Intergrated Health Project has greatly succeeded in improving delivery of health services to the people of Bauchi State. This intervention covers Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, as well as Nutrition and Malaria. I am pleased to inform you that the Bauchi State Government is up to date in meeting its obligations to the MoU on which the USAID-IHP intervention was executed.
“As you may recall, when I first assumed office in May 2019 as the Governor of Bauchi State, one of my first engagements was with all donor partners working within the State. This was an acknowledgement and appreciation of the support of our international partners in health service delivery and other areas. I used the opportunity to commend their resilience and requested for continued collaboration with my administration as we unfold our plans for Improving the health of our people.
“As a practical demonstration of the priority my Administration has for the health and wellbeing of our citizens, from day one I commissioned a process of consultations with all stakeholders, including an executive retreat which I personally led to craft strategic way forward for all MDAs, particularly the health sector. These processes of consultation on health culminated in the conduct of the first ever State Health Summit in October, 2022, during which stakeholders from within and outside the State deliberated at length on challenges and prospects for taking the health and wellbeing of our people to the next level.”
Governor Bala Mohammed then assured that his administration will not relent in its determination to rehabilitate and equip health facilities to reduce the high patient fatality ratio in addition to sustaining the training and retraining of health workers, including doctors, nurses, midwives and other personnel in the halth sector.
The State Director, USAID-IHP, Bauchi, Dr Alhassan Siaka, explained that the USAID Integrated Health Program began working in Bauchi in 2019 with the goal of reducing child and maternal mortality and increasing the capacity of health systems to sustainably support quality primary health care services for reproductive health, family planning, maternal, newborn and child health, adolescent health, nutrition, and malaria.
