The Kano State Hospital Management Board has restated commitment to quality healthcare service delivery in the state.

The Executive Secretary of the board, Dr Mansur Nagoda stated this during the inauguration of the state-wide hospital inspection exercise, on Monday in Kano.

He said the board in collaboration with the ministry of health would inspect healthcare facilities in urban and rural areas of the state.

Nagoda said the exercise aimed at encouraging positive attitudinal change among medical workers, to ensure that interventions were properly utilised.

He said the exercise would also guard against alleged hoarding and diversion of medical commodities provided by the state government.

“We are also paying unscheduled visits to health facilities to mainly assess their sanitary conditions and see how the services are being rendered.

“The major issues we largely concentrate on will include checking of staff roster for all cadres to know professional relationships among staff to avoid unwanted rivalry,” he said.

Nagoda said the state government had rolled out free delivery kits; free accident and emergency items, free cleansing items for general sanitation of facilities and maintenance of proper hygienic condition, among workers.

The gesture, he said, would provide succour and improve the welfare of patients in the state.

Some of the facilities visited include Murtala Muhammad Specialists Hospital; Muhammad Abdullahi Wase Teaching Hospital, Sir Muhammad Sanusi Specialist Hospital, Sheik Muhammad Jidda General Hospital, and Yadakunya General Hospital.

The Borno State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (BOSCHMA) has enrolled 97,000 beneficiaries under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) and disbursed over N1.2 billion to primary healthcare facilities in the last three years.

Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr. Abbah Saleh-Kaza, disclosed this on Monday during the 2024 Performance Review exercise in Maiduguri, stressing that family health services remain a priority.

“Reducing maternal mortality is a priority for us, and we continue to focus on providing quality healthcare to mothers and children in the state,” he said. He added that 22,000 pregnant women and 14,000 children had been enrolled since the scheme’s inception.

Saleh-Kaza highlighted the impact of the N1.2 billion capitation payment on improving healthcare services. “In 2024 alone, the state government allocated N699 million for capitation to primary healthcare centers. Since the inception of the BHCPF, we have consistently paid capitation on time, even in the absence of federal government funds,” he said.

The agency also disbursed N40 million in fee-for-service payments to 172 secondary healthcare facilities in 2024, up from N20.5 million in 2023 and N600,000 in 2022. According to Saleh-Kaza, this initiative has strengthened referrals between primary and secondary healthcare facilities, significantly improving service delivery.

“With the introduction of an electronic referral system, we have seen a significant improvement in the efficiency of our healthcare services. We have N300 million reserved for referrals this year and are committed to utilizing at least 50 per cent of the funds to enhance healthcare delivery,” he noted.

The agency also treated about 15,000 enrollees for malaria, hypertension, diabetes, dental, and eye conditions. Saleh-Kaza acknowledged a rising prevalence of mental health cases, prompting a partnership with the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri.

“One of the challenges we face is the increasing number of mental health cases, and we are working to establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital to ensure that our patients receive the best possible care,” he said.

Despite these strides, he identified poverty as a major barrier to healthcare access in the state. “Our state remains one of the most impoverished in Nigeria, and we must do more to ensure that everyone, especially the poor and vulnerable, has access to quality healthcare. This is not just a healthcare issue; it is a humanitarian one,” he emphasized.

He appealed for additional funding to expand services and increase enrolment, while commending Governor Babagana Zulum for his support in strengthening healthcare delivery.

Meanwhile, Dr. Muhammed Guluze, Permanent Secretary, Administration, Government House, Maiduguri, underscored the importance of the performance review in improving health outcomes and urged stakeholders to engage actively.

Ahmed Jamal, Secretary of the National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA), lauded BOSCHMA for achieving 97 per cent of its targets and stressed the need for strong stakeholder engagement to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

DR Congo, head of UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, Bintou Keita has called for immediate action to end the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, saying, “we are trapped”

Keita made the call while briefing the Security Council on Sunday in New York on the latest developments, as the non-State armed group M23 advances on cities in the east amid reports of deaths and injuries of civilians and peacekeepers.

Spiralling violence and killings in the eastern DR Congo had triggered an emergency Security Council meeting amid peacekeeper and civilian deaths along with sharp calls for action.

Roads are blocked and the airport can no longer be used for evacuation or humanitarian efforts. M23 has declared Goma airport “closed” and falsely accused FARDC of using it in airstrikes against the civilian population.

“We are trapped.

“I call on this Council to act now to secure the civilian population, humanitarian aid workers, and all United Nations personnel.

“Today, despite ongoing MONUSCO support to FARDC, M23 and Rwandan forces penetrated Munigi quarter in the outskirts Goma city, causing mass panic and flight amongst the population,” she said.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in DR Congo, Bruno Lemarquis, expressed his profound concern regarding the intensification of ongoing fighting around the city of Goma and its growing impact on civilians.

Since the renewed M23 offensives near Goma on January 23, 2025, hundreds of thousands of people have once again been forced to flee multiple active conflict zones, with reception and assistance capacities already overstretched.

Several displacement sites on the outskirts of Goma, hosting more than 300,000 people, have been completely emptied within hours.

Humanitarian actors, including essential personnel who remain operational in Goma, are doing everything possible to address the needs of the most vulnerable civilians despite an alarming deterioration of security in displacement sites and certain neighbourhoods of the city.

The proximity of fighting to densely populated areas and the use of heavy artillery impose intolerable risks on civilians. The emergency capacities of Goma’s hospitals are overwhelmed, despite support from humanitarian actors.

“On behalf of the humanitarian community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I call on all parties to the conflict to immediately halt the military escalation.

“This violence exacerbates the suffering of populations in eastern DRC and worsens the already precarious conditions of civilians.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner of DR Congo said Rwanda is planning “a brutality” against her country, bringing the region to the brink of tragedy.

“Each minute that is passing without decisive action by this Council is a victory for the aggressor,” she said. “The world is watching you. It’s time to act.

Rwanda’s Defence Forces (RDF) have stepped up attacks, violating the ceasefire agreement, aggravating an already disastrous humanitarian situation.

In Goma, the RDF has blocked roads, endangered civilian and humanitarian flights and continue to attack camps for displaced persons, she said.

The Luanda Process, endorsed by the African Union, has been sabotaged by Rwanda, she stressed, highlighting the plundering of Congolese minerals and attacks on civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarians.

DR Congo will reject any attempt to include M23 in the Luanda Process, which is an agreement between States.

The Security Council must not remain inactive, she said, calling on it to act decisively to, among other things, order the end of hostilities, demand a withdrawal of Rwanda troops on Congolese territory and apply relevant sanctions and an embargo on all minerals labelled as Rwandan.

She also called on the Council to establish a regime to address systematic violations of arms transfers to Rwanda and remove the country from its list of troop-contributing nations. Also speaking,

Ambassadors of Uruguay and South Africa, whose peacekeepers were recently killed by armed groups in DR Congo, appealed to the Security Council to protect UN troops.