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The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Development Governance International (DGI) Consult have trained local government health managers and frontline health workers in Adamawa, Sokoto and Kwara states to strengthen leadership, improve healthcare delivery and reduce preventable deaths.
The training, conducted under the UNICEF-supported Enhancing Leadership, Governance and Management Capacities (ELGMC) Project, focused on practical problem solving, service coordination and accountability in primary healthcare facilities.
The intervention targets gaps affecting reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition (RMNCAH+N), as well as gender-based violence (GBV) programmes.
Speaking at the training in Song Local Government Area of Adamawa State, the Executive Chairman of the Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Sulaiman Saidu Bashir, stressed the need for stronger leadership and collective commitment to prevent avoidable deaths among women, newborns, children and adolescents.
The Chief Executive Officer, DGI Consult, Dr. Gafar Alawode, said the programme was designed to equip health teams with practical skills to identify and address challenges affecting service delivery.
He explained that participants were trained to use programme data to set priorities, monitor performance and develop action plans with clear responsibilities and timelines.
In Sokoto State, the approach had already produced practical results at PHC Yallabe in Wamakko Local Government Area, where collaboration with nutrition officials led to the facility becoming a distribution point for ready-to-use therapeutic food, reportedly increasing patient turnout.
An official of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA) also agreed to support the facility during busy immunisation and antenatal care sessions, while the local government monitoring and evaluation officer provided needed reporting tools.
The Director of Health in Gwadabawa Local Government Area, Alhaji Usman Shehu, urged participants to apply the lessons from the training and regularly assess progress.
He said the exercise should be treated as an ongoing improvement process, rather than a one-off activity, to ensure that agreed priorities translated into better services.
Similarly, the Director of Primary Health Care Services at the Kwara State PHCDA, Dr. Michael Oguntoye, expressed confidence that the training would strengthen health workers’ capacity and improve health outcomes.
The next phase of the project will involve mentoring and supportive supervision to help participating facilities implement their plans, monitor results and address emerging challenges.
The initiative is expected to strengthen health programme implementation and improve access to quality services across the three states.
