Niger government, in collaboration with Global Alliance Initiative (GAVI) and UNICEF, has celebrated the close-out of their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening the state’s primary healthcare system.
Gov. Umaru Bago of Niger disclosed this when he received officials from GAVI and UNICEF during a courtesy visit as part of activities for close out of GAVI supported primary healthcare system strengthening in Minna on Tuesday.
Bago expressed gratitude to partners for supporting the state’s primary healthcare initiative, aimed at promoting healthcare services and child birth registration.
He disclosed that the partnership received seed money of about N6 million dollars, which the state government matched with an additional N1 million dollars.
He revealed that the state was working towards a more developed system, where tele-medicine services would be provided across primary healthcare centres.
“This will enable partners to assist from a distance, especially in areas where manpower is scarce.
“The state government also plan to deploy tele-medicine facilities across all primary healthcare centres, provide internet services, and build doctors’ accommodations to house medical personnel within the facilities,” he said.
Bago disclosed that in the next six months, the state plans to launch a drone vaccine delivery project to reach hard-to-reach areas, leveraging technology to bridge the gap.
According to him, with tele-medicine, doctors will be able to diagnose patients remotely, and nurses at the stations can dispense medication accordingly.
In his remarks, Dr Shyam Pathak, Chief of Health, UNICEF, acknowledged the governor’s achievements in recruiting 1,500 new health staff, retaining 400 health staff and procuring medical equipment.
He said that this has provided access to quality health services for vulnerable populations.
He also commended the contributions of traditional and religious institutions toward strengthening the primary healthcare system.
Pathak advocated for increased investment, oversight, and improvement in sustaining the project, retaining health workers, maintaining equipment, and sustaining the mechanism of operation of services and data documentation.
He also solicited support to reach children and households displaced by insecurity, as well as nomadic and pastoral populations, with health services such as immunisation, birth registration, education, nutrition, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
He noted that UNICEF supports human growth and development of every child through multi-sector programming along with health.
Also speaking, Dr Ibrahim Sesay, Chief of Child Protection, UNICEF, commended Niger government for its commitment to birth registration, saying the state had made significant progress in registering children under five years.
Sesay stated that the MOU between Niger government and the UN system had yielded positive results, with over 400,000 children registered in 2024, exceeding the 100 per cent target.
“This achievement is due to the leadership style of the governor and the commitment of the Commissioner of Health, National Population Commission, and other stakeholders,” he said.
Sesay also announced that UNICEF would integrate services to issue national identification numbers to registered children, enabling the tracking of unimmunised children and identifying gaps in the system.
Similarly, Dr Alex Chimbaru, WHO representative, commended the governor for his commitment to ensuring the project’s success, adding that there had been a decrease in maternal and infant mortality rates.
Chimbaru attributed the success to the governor’s commitment and the community’s hard work, emphasising that sustainability was crucial to maintaining the progress made.
Chimbaru urged the state government to continue monitoring its indicators and indices to ensure that the progress made was sustained.
In his remarks, Dr Ibrahim Dangana, Commissioner for Primary Healthcare in Niger, disclosed that the programme had made tremendous progress in reducing maternal and infant mortalities in the state. (NAN)
