Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested $4 million to advance Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Lagos, Kaduna and Kano states, ahead of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals deadline.
The project, running from September 2024 to April 2028, involves the Federal Ministry of Health, State Ministries of Health, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, and state insurance agencies.
At a three-day media training workshop in Kaduna, focused on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH), Primary Health Care (PHC), Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp), health financing, and newborn care, EngenderHealth’s Jumare Abdulazeez explained the initiative’s goal. “90 per cent of cases that take people to tertiary health institutions can be managed at the primary healthcare level if standard services are readily available,” he said.
Kaduna’s Health Commissioner, Hajiya Umma K. Ahmed, highlighted challenges like high maternal and neonatal mortality and rising non-communicable diseases. “The media plays a crucial role in shaping public understanding and attitudes towards health,” she said, pledging government support for the training.
Gates Foundation consultant Dr Anthony Shemang emphasised grassroots health improvements through collaboration with the government and media. Moji Makanjuola, Executive Director of the International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH), represented by Solomon Dogo, stressed, “The media is key in the dissemination of quality health messages to the larger public.”
The workshop, organised by the Kaduna State Government, ISMPH, EngenderHealth, and the Gates Foundation, trained journalists to enhance health reporting, boost public awareness, and promote accountability. The EngenderHealth project aims to ensure minimum PHC standards, implementable policies, and funded budgets.