From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) State2State programme has kicked off a three-day roundtable workshop to review Sokoto’s 2025 budget for the health sector.
The meeting was held in Birnin Kebbi and was attended by the USAID State2State team leader, Dr A.A. Ladan, Sokoto State Commissioner for Health, Hajia Asabe Balarabe, and other stakeholders.
While speaking at the meeting, USAID State2State team leader Dr A.A. Ladan explained that the essence of the workshop was to enable Sokoto State’s health sector to validate its 2025 healthcare budget in line with operational plans for the year 2025.
He said that the validation exercise aimed to broaden work plans for the government to ensure value for the substantial funds earmarked for various health interventions.
According to him, “As a partner, we proffer professional support, which will ensure all healthcare programmes lined up for 2025 are fully implemented to reach the target beneficiaries in Sokoto State.
“So, that is the main reason for the workshop with officials of the Sokoto State Ministry of Health, who at the end of the three-day workshop will be armed with technical know-how on how to validate the budget for healthcare programmes in the state.”
In her remarks, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Health, Hajia Asabe Balarabe, who declared the workshop open, said that all the requests of the development partners on the 2025 budget validation would receive the rapt attention of Sokoto State Governor Dr Ahmed Ali, who has already allocated 15 per cent of the budget to the health sector.
Balarabe explained that the essence of the budget review and validation was to enable the Sokoto State government to understand why and how to invest in the sector and to recognise the contributions of USAID State2State partners towards achieving optimum budget performance in the vital health sector.
She added that the Sokoto State government, in the 2025 budget, has concluded plans to completely eradicate malaria while addressing other areas deserving attention in the health industry.
“So, at the end of the workshop, our officials will gain the required expertise on proper budget implementation for 2025,” she said.
She thanked all participants of the workshop, particularly USAID State2State, for organising the three-day workshop and pledged to strengthen ties with the development partners, saying that the door of the Sokoto State government is always open to any contribution that will expedite budget validation.