As parts of efforts improving the healthcare system in Kaduna State, Governor Uba Sani has approved the remaining 2024 and full 2025 payments for medical residency training and hazard allowances for all medical doctors in the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Umma K. Ahmed, made this disclosure during a three-day workshop for health reporters organized in Kaduna by the International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH).
“Monthly, the medical doctors will start receiving additional N40,000 – N35,000 on their salaries. This will at least ease the hardships,” Ahmed said, just as she also revealed that the governor had approved the recruitment of 1,800 health workers for Primary Health Care (PHC) centres, with another proposal awaiting approval for staffing secondary facilities and teaching hospitals.
“Gov Uba Sani equally has given approval for recruitment of 1,800 health workers for Primary Health Care centres. I have presented another memo for recruitment of health workers for the secondary facilities and teaching hospitals which we’re hoping the governor would soon approve,” she said.
“Very soon, the portal for the recruitment of the 1,800 PHC workers would be out, and we’ll start the recruitment process. These are the gaps and challenges the ministry is facing—the health workers are not there. We are looking at having at least 5,000 plus nurses and midwives, while we currently have 2,000 plus of this cadre in the state,” the commissioner said.
Speaking on behalf of the Gates Foundation, a health systems consultant, Dr. Anthony Shamang, described the workshop as a vital part of Kaduna’s journey toward more inclusive and responsive healthcare delivery.
“The Gates Foundation has worked in Kaduna State for over a decade. We began with support for routine immunisation and have since expanded to broader health system strengthening,” he said.
He clarified that the Gates Foundation acts as a funding partner, supporting governments and implementing organisations like EngenderHealth and ISMPH to deliver health-related projects. Shamang also highlighted the importance of media in policy advocacy.
“That is where the media comes in. You have the power to translate health challenges and needs into compelling stories that resonate with the public and policymakers alike,” he said.
The Executive Director of ISMPH, Moji Makanjuola, described the media as strategic partners in development. Represented by Program Director Solomon Dogo, she said, “The media are partners in development, and their role in public health goes beyond dissemination, but helping to drive behavior change.”
Makanjuola added that the training was part of a broader initiative implemented in Kaduna, Kano, and Niger states to improve health reporting and build the capacity of journalists to drive community-level change, just as she also also acknowledged the support of partners including EngenderHealth, CCSI, and LISDEL.
