Kaduna Begins Revitalisation of 82 PHCs, Targets Stronger Rural Healthcare

By Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna

The Kaduna State Government has commenced the revitalisation and upgrading of 82 additional Primary Health Care (PHC) centres across the 23 Local Government Areas, in a renewed push to expand access to quality healthcare at the grassroots.

The groundbreaking ceremony, held as part of the state’s ongoing health-sector transformation, will see the facilities upgraded to Level 2 PHC standards, alongside the rehabilitation of PHC Centres of Excellence and strengthening of the state’s emergency referral system through the provision of ambulances.

Representing Governor Uba Sani, the Secretary to the Kaduna State Government, Dr Abdulkadir Mu’azu Mayere, said the investment was aimed at ensuring that residents could access quality, affordable and responsive healthcare regardless of their location or socioeconomic circumstances.

He said the project was not merely about constructing or renovating buildings but about creating functional facilities equipped with medicines, medical equipment, competent personnel and systems capable of responding to patients with dignity and respect.

According to him, the state’s investment in primary healthcare was also central to human capital development and sustainable economic growth.

The Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, Prof. Bello Jamoh, said the intervention would cover infrastructure, medical equipment, essential medicines, human resources, emergency referrals and quality improvement.

Jamoh disclosed that the programme would also rehabilitate PHC Centres of Excellence, strengthen referral systems with ambulances, and provide 50 new gender-based toilets while renovating 156 others across the state.

He said Governor Uba Sani had approved the recruitment of an additional 1,800 health workers, with the recruitment expected to commence the following week.

“The real measure of this project will not be the number of buildings renovated or the number of pieces of equipment delivered. The real measure will be the difference that these investments make in the lives of our people,” Jamoh said.

He added that the state would assess the programme by its impact on service utilisation, availability of medicines, quality of care, emergency referrals and ultimately improved health outcomes.

In her remarks, delivered by Pharmacist Sadiq Bala, the Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Umma K. Ahmed, charged Local Government Chairmen to take ownership of the projects and maintain close supervision to prevent deviations from approved specifications.

She also warned contractors against compromising the quality of materials or workmanship, stressing that the facilities would serve as places where mothers give birth, children receive life-saving vaccines and emergencies are managed.

“The objective of this project is not simply constructing 82 structures, but delivering 82 functional, safe, and high-quality Primary Health Care centres that will serve our communities for many years to come,” she said.

Representing development partners in Kaduna State and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr Anthony Shamang said infrastructure alone would not guarantee improved healthcare outcomes.

He identified adequate staffing, essential medicines and equipment, reliable utilities, effective supervision and meaningful community engagement as critical to sustaining the facilities.

Shamang said the development partners remained committed to working with the Kaduna State Government to strengthen the health system, improve data-driven decision-making and expand access to quality services, particularly for women, children and underserved communities.

The Governor, in his address read by the SSG, said the revitalisation of the 82 PHCs, alongside the rehabilitation of Centres of Excellence and provision of ambulances, represented a comprehensive investment in the state’s health system.

He stressed that the government would measure the success of the intervention not by the number of facilities renovated but by whether more women received quality maternal care, more children were immunised, emergency referrals became faster and patients received better care.

The project is expected to bring Kaduna State closer to its objective of strengthening primary healthcare as the foundation for Universal Health Coverage, particularly for rural, remote and underserved communities.