Our Reporter
The Bauchi State House of Assembly has reiterated its strong commitment to exercising its oversight function to improve healthcare delivery and immunization coverage across the state.
Speaker of the House, Mr Abubakar Sulaiman, gave the assurance on Friday in Bauchi while receiving the Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN) and the Zero Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH) Community of Practice (CoP), during an advocacy visit.
He stated that the Assembly, through its committees on Health and Appropriation, has consistently advocated for increased budgetary allocations to the health sector,
“We acknowledge health as a foundation for societal development. “Without good health, no society can function effectively,” he emphasized.
The Speaker also reaffirmed the House’s readiness to carry out oversight visits to health facilities across the state to directly engage communities and assess healthcare service delivery.
He said the Assembly remains committed to gender inclusion and the protection of women and children’s rights in all health-related policies.
Dr. Aminu Magashi, Coordinator of AHBN, commended the Assembly for its leadership role, urging lawmakers to strengthen their oversight and resource tracking mechanisms to ensure every child in Bauchi is immunized.
“Bauchi is leading among the four states where we work, and this is because of the strong political will from both the Assembly and the executive arm,” he noted.
Also speaking, Dr. Hassan Musa, Bauchi State Focal Person for AHBN, appreciated the state government for creating a dedicated budget line for immunization, with N870 million earmarked in the 2025 budget as a basket fund to combat zero-dose prevalence in children.
He highlighted gaps identified in the District Immunization Monitoring (DIM) report and the scorecard, calling for more focus on gender mainstreaming, community engagement, and social protection.
CoP Co-chair Mr. Jinjiri Garba commended the Assembly for being responsive to the health sector’s needs, emphasizing the need for sustained collaboration to improve the state’s health indices.
