Written By Aminu Dalhatu; Edited By Godwin Duru
The Zamfara State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening primary healthcare delivery with the graduation of the first cohort of the National Health Fellows Programme and the onboarding of a new set of fellows to support health sector reforms across the state.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nafisa Muhammad Maradun, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Alhaji Rilwanu Musa Zurmi, stated this during the graduation ceremony held in Gusau, the Zamfara State Capital.
Dr. Maradun described the event as a significant milestone in the state’s efforts to bridge the human resource gap in the primary healthcare system and improve healthcare service delivery.
She congratulated the graduating fellows for successfully completing their one-year training and commended their dedication, professionalism and contributions to strengthening primary healthcare services across the state.
According to Dr. Nafisa Maradun, the training has equipped the fellows with the knowledge and skills required to serve as catalysts for positive change within their communities and the healthcare system.
The commissioner also welcomed the newly admitted fellows and urged them to contribute their expertise towards the ongoing reforms in the health sector initiated by Governor Dauda Lawal’s administration.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Zamfara State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Hussaini Yakubu Anka tasked the incoming fellows to build on the achievements of their predecessors by promoting teamwork, professionalism and effective collaboration with health workers at the local government level.
He explained that the National Health Fellows had significantly improved data reporting, accountability and service delivery in primary healthcare facilities across the state, describing their contributions as remarkable.
Also speaking, the SWAP Desk Officer, Dr. Abdullahi Wanzamai, explained that the National Health Fellows Programme is a flagship initiative of the Federal Government under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative’s Sector-Wide Approach (SWAP), coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
According to Dr. Wanzamai, the National Health Fellowship Programme is playing a critical role in strengthening primary health services across the state.
Dr. Abdullahi Wanzamai said the fellowship programme is being implemented in all 774 local government areas of the country to train and deploy young health professionals who will support the implementation of health policies and programmes at the grassroots.
According to him, unlike previous approaches that relied on top-down policy implementation, the fellowship adopts a bottom-up approach, enabling fellows to identify challenges within communities and provide practical solutions that improve healthcare delivery.
Dr. Wanzamai noted that the programme is designed to build a pipeline of competent health leaders capable of addressing leadership gaps in the sector while improving coordination of healthcare services, particularly in tackling maternal, newborn and child mortality.
He said the event marked the graduation of the first cohort of National Health Fellows and the onboarding of the second cohort, explaining that 14 fellows, representing the 14 local government areas of Zamfara State, completed the programme, while another 14 have commenced the next phase.
Assessing the performance of the pioneer fellows, Dr. Wanzamai described their contributions as impressive, noting that several had published research articles in reputable academic journals.
On the responsibilities of the newly inducted fellows, Dr. Wanzamai said they would return to their respective local government areas to support primary healthcare centres by improving data quality, strengthening technical and leadership capacity, mentoring frontline health workers and enhancing service delivery.
The Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Zamfara State, who is also the Chairman of Zurmi Local Government Council, Samaila Hussaini Moriki assured the fellows of the support of all the 14 local government councils in the state.
Speaking on behalf of the graduating fellows, a participant expressed gratitude to the Federal and Zamfara State Governments for the opportunity to serve and contribute to healthcare development.
The event brought together health stakeholders from various government and non governmental organizations.