Primary Health Care: Zamfara ranks best in North West

Zamfara was announced the winner of the PHC Leadership Challenge during an award night held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre on Friday.

Zamfara State has emerged as the best-performing state in the North West zonal Primary Health Care Leadership Challenge. Zamfara was announced the winner of the PHC Leadership Challenge during an award night held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre on Friday.

A statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, disclosed that in 2022, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) launched the Primary Health Care Leadership Challenge, pledging to build a health system that delivers quality care regardless of geography or circumstance. The statement noted that the PHC Leadership Challenge Fund intends to promote sustainable healthcare financing and motivates Nigeria’s 36 states to compete in enhancing their primary healthcare services.

“Zamfara state has won 500,000 USD as the best performing state in the North West zone in the Primary Healthcare Leadership Challenge. The award presented to Governor Dauda Lawal is a joint project of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the Dangote Foundation, and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA).

“This clearly demonstrates that Governor Lawal’s declaration of a state of emergency in the Zamfara health sector is producing the intended positive outcomes. Zamfara and other leading states from North East, North Central, South East, South South, and South West shared a total of $6.1 million through the third edition of the Primary Health Care Leadership Challenge Awards,” the statement added.