Environmental and Public Health Watch
The blog of Environmental and Public health news, opinion and articles in Nigeria. You can reach me via karaye@gmail.com
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Monday, July 7, 2025
Crave: The Hidden Biology of Addiction and Cancer

Thursday, May 1, 2025
On Kano Enumeration of Children and Pregnant Women
By Sani Garba Mohammed
To improve the planning and delivery of quality healthcare programs in Kano State, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in collaboration with the Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board and with support from implementing partners, recently carried out a house-to-house Identification and Enumeration (IE) of all children under five and pregnant women.
Given the lack of reliable data on these key groups, this timely and essential census will provide accurate and dependable information. The data collected, once analyzed, will offer valuable insights to guide the state’s efforts in areas such as immunization and maternal health.
All stakeholders—including the state government, partners, and relevant organizations—are expected to collaborate in utilizing the findings of this exercise to enhance healthcare services across the state.

Kano and the journey to TSTS
By Sani Garba Mohammed
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Task Shifting refers to “the rational redistribution of tasks among health workforce teams,” where certain responsibilities are delegated from highly qualified health professionals to those with less training and fewer qualifications, in order to maximize the efficient use of available human resources. Task Sharing, on the other hand, involves expanding the range of healthcare workers who are permitted to provide specific services—when it can be done safely and effectively—as a strategy to quickly improve access and quality of care. The overarching goal is to ensure that the right health workers, with the right skills, are in the right place, performing the right tasks.
Aligned with this global strategy, Nigeria developed the National Task Shifting and Task Sharing (TSTS) policy in 2014. Kano State adopted and domesticated this policy in 2017 to address its human resources for health (HRH) needs. The policy aims to define essential healthcare services and the cadres of frontline health workers qualified to deliver them; provide a framework for empowering more healthcare workers to expand access to care and support the achievement of relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); maximize the competencies of well-trained, mid-level healthcare workers to meet the population’s health needs; promote the efficient and effective use of financial and non-financial resources to scale up essential service delivery across the state.
However, implementation of the policy remained stalled from its adoption until 2024, due to several challenges. The current administration took proactive steps to revive the effort by revising the outdated 2009 state HRH policy, developing a strategic implementation plan, and updating the TSTS policy. This review was carried out in partnership with development organizations to better reflect the current HRH challenges in the state.
Following the review and validation of key policy documents, Pathfinder International, in collaboration with Impact Catalysts, launched a two-year project to actualize the implementation of TSTS. A major component of this initiative was a three-day stakeholder engagement and work planning workshop. The workshop gathered input from various stakeholders on project design, identified ways to integrate TSTS into the state’s sectoral plans, and established collaboration mechanisms to ensure successful implementation.
Additionally, a separate co-creation workshop was held for stakeholders from Kano and Kaduna states to develop a TSTS implementation framework. Discussions focused on training and clinical mentoring strategies, a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) plan, building a network of care, ensuring sustainability, and outlining the next steps.
These advancements were made possible through the strong commitment of the current Kano State government to addressing HRH gaps, with a long-term vision of recruiting and retaining the necessary healthcare workforce.
With continued support from the Kano State Government, stakeholders, and partners such as Pathfinder International, TSTS implementation in Kano is poised to bring about a significant and transformative change in health service delivery.

Saturday, December 9, 2023
The Coming of 'Kano Manage PHC'
By Sani Garba Mohammed
In 2021, an assessment was carried out in the primary healthcare facilities in Kano state across five thematic areas of the World Health Organization’s framework for leadership and management which are functional governance, institutional processes, management competency, performance management, and enabling environment.
The finding from the baseline assessment showed key deficits in seven thematic areas that need a serious address for the primary health care centres to work efficiently. The thematic areas are data management; financial management, facility management, Human Resources for Health, logistics and supply chain, planning and community relations, and quality of care.
On data management, the assessed health facilities struggle with the submission of fully populated National Health Management Information System, NHMIS forms; over 50% of the assessed health facilities were unable to conduct and manage review sessions to disseminate and use data to inform program decisions; Primary Health Care Centres, PHCs do not have a system for proper storage and archival of data tools; on Human Resources for Health, HRH, health facilities performed fairly with major gaps in the management and tracking staff leaves and performance appraisal; health workers lateness and absence from work continues to be an issue in PHCs; health workers are typically informed of their job functions “informally”, structured orientation is not well implemented or lacking entirely across HFs; on logistic and supply chain, over 60% of health facilities performed well for quantification and drug dispensing subthemes, while underperforming in stock management and DRF subthemes; surprisingly 24% of PHCs do not communicate the recommended drug dosage, usage and adverse effects to patients.
On planning and community relations, the majority of the assessed health facilities conduct planning and community relations activities but some gaps remain with the documentation of findings from the planning process and routine implementation of action points from WDC meetings. On financial management, health facilities performed abysmally in budgeting with over 80% of the assessed health facilities struggling with budget development; health facilities performed fairly at conducting expense management with suboptimal delineation of roles for some expenses processes exposing the inadequacies of financial management processes; while funds are remitted by health facilities to the appropriate banks, some financial management processes (transmission and documentation of receipts) that will improve the transparency of fund management is lacking, and lastly, quality of care, most primary health care centres have poor/no system for soliciting patient feedback and key performance indicators for tracking quality of care; also many facilities do not/poorly document Quality Management Team meetings and do not know how to develop Quality Improvement Plan; and 72% of them do not fully fill their referral forms & only 6% of their follow-up on referral cases.
Based on these findings and in an effort to address them, supporting partners from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, BMGF, TA Connect, and Solina Centre for International Development and Research, SCIDaR joins hands with Kano state primary health care management board, KNSPHCMB via the state ministry of health to offer helping hand in addressing the finding.
A program ‘Kano State Primary Health Care Management Capacity Strengthening Project’ which is simply coined ‘Kano Manage PHC’ came into being to address the challenges identified. Two [Nasarawa and Dawakin Tofa] out of the six zones under the board were identified where the facility managers of the facilities under the zone will be trained for ten days on the seven identified thematic areas in two batches, the first batch held between 21st August to 1st September 2023.
The training was provided by the competent team of program officers related to the thematic area from the board, including lecturers from Kano State College of Health Science and Technology, and partners of SCIDar who are all experts in each chosen thematic area.
Participants were intensively and rigorously trained via power presentation, group, and plenary session, and all participated actively.
The program will cover 6 months where by mentors are assigned to the participating facilities for mentoring and supervision to ensure all these thematic areas are given their due concern and treatment.
It is expected that the facility managers trained in the first phase [and those in the second phase] will justify the training received and bring into practice lessons learned in administering their facilities so that they become role models to others in every aspect.
Sani Garba Mohammed, Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board, Na’ibawa Kano.

Thursday, February 24, 2022
The challenges faced by Environmental health Practitioners in Nigeria

Repositioning environmental and public health services at PHC level in Kano state

Saturday, June 26, 2021
STAKEHOLDERS APPEARANCE ON WEDNESDAY 10TH JUNE, 2020 FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES BILL
STAKEHOLDERS APPEARANCE ON WEDNESDAY 10TH
JUNE, 2020 FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES BILL |
|
SNo. |
Name of
Stakeholder Organization |
1 |
Equity International Initiative |
2. |
Action Group on Free Civil Space |
3. |
Catholic Women Organization of Nigeria |
4. |
Nigeria Immigration Service |
5. |
NCDC |
6. |
National Association of Community
Health Practitioners of Nigeria (NACHPN) |
7. |
Association of Medical Laboratory
Scientists of Nigeria |
8. |
Initiative for the Development of
Future Accountable Leaders |
9. |
Nigeria Agric Quarantine Service
(NAQS) |
10. |
Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians
Registration Board |
11. |
AFD Coalition Against Mandatory
Vaccination |
12. |
Society for Environmental and Public
Health of Nig. (SEPHON) |
13. |
National Council for Women Societies
(NCWS) |
14. |
Socio-Economic Rights &
Accountability Project (SERAP) |
15. |
NAFDAC |
16. |
National Association of Catholic
Lawyers |
17. |
Nigeria Infectious Diseases Society |
18. |
Nigerian Veterinary Medical
Association |
19. |
Association of Public Health Physicians
of Nig. (APHPN) |
20. |
Society for Public Health
Professionals of Nig. (SPHPN) |
21. |
Doctors Health Initiative |
22. |
Happy Home Foundation |
23. |
Association of Catholic Medical
Practitioners of Nigeria |
24. |
Foundation of African Cultural
Heritage |
25. |
Epidemiological Society of Nigeria
(EPISON) |
26. |
Nursing & Midwifery Council of
Nigeria |
27. |
Veterinary Council of Nigeria |
28. |
Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and
Beyond (ASCAB) |
29. |
Christian Lawyers Fellowship of
Nigeria (CLAFON) |
30. |
Environmental Health Regulation |
31. |
Coalition of Civil Society for Citizen
Action Against Covid-19 |
32. |
Health Sector Reform Coalition |
33. |
University of Lagos (Faculty of Law) |
34. |
National Islamic Centre Zaria |
35. |
Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) |
36 |
Legislative Advocacy Initiative for
Sustainable Dev. (LISDEL) |
37 |
Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) |
38. |
National Islamic Centre, Zaria |
39. |
Association of Public Health
Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN) |
40. |
Chief Justice of Nigeria |
41. |
ALGON |
42. |
National Primary Health Development |
43. |
Nigerian Association of Resident
Doctors |
44. |
Medical Laboratory Council of Nigeria |
45. |
Nigerian Police Force |
46. |
Dangote Foundation |
47. |
UNICEF |
48. |
Association of Chemists |
49. |
Shippers Council of Nigeria |
50. |
National Institute of Legislative
Studies NILDS |
51 |
Magistrate Association of Nigeria |
52. |
Dr. Mohammed Etudaiye, Faculty of Law
University of Abuja |
53. |
Dr. Charles Omole |
54. |
Prof. Dimie Ogoina, President Nigerian
Infectious Disease Society |
STAKEHOLDERS
APPEARANCE ON THURSDAY 11TH JUNE, 2020 FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON
INFECTIOUS DISEASES BILL |
|
1. |
Citizens Coalition Against Impunity
and Injustice |
2. |
Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria
(PSN) |
3. |
Amnesty International Nigeria |
4. |
Traditional Medicine Association of
Nigeria (TMAN) |
5. |
Obi of Onitsha |
6. |
Ooni of Ife |
7. |
Sultan of Sokoto |
8. |
NAFDAC |
9. |
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) |
10. |
Jamatu Nasir Islam |
11. |
College of Nigerian Pathologists |
12. |
Association of Public Health
Physicians of Nig. (APHPN) |
13. |
Nigerian Christian Graduate Fellowship
(NCGF) |
14. |
Professional Association of Public
Health Nurses of Nig. (PAPHNON) |
15. |
Catholic Bishops Conference of |
16. |
Nigeria Health Reform Foundation of
Nigeria and Centre for Health Science Training |
17. |
Nigerian Union of Allied Health
Professionals (NUAHP) |
18. |
The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) |
19. |
JOHESU |
20. |
Medical Health Workers Union of
Nigeria |
21. |
Livingseed Team Inc. |
22 |
The Stage for Women Coalition |
23. |
Association of Medical Officers of
Health in Nigeria (AMOHN) |
24. |
Association of Hospital and
Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria |
25. |
Centre for Peace Building and
Socio-Economic Resources Development |
26. |
Ministry of Health |
27. |
Ministry of Justice |
28. |
Ministry of Women Affairs |
29. |
Muslim Students Society of Nigeria,
Northern State |
30. |
Yiaga Africa |
31. |
Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) |
32. |
Legislative advocacy initiative for
sustainable develoment |
33. |
Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) |
34. |
Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) |
35. |
Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria |
36. |
Citizen Coalition Against Impunity and
Justice |
37. |
NHIS |
38. |
Nigerian Human Rights Commission |
39. |
Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria |
40. |
Pharmacy Council of Nigeria |
41. |
Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) |
42. |
Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) |
43. |
Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine
Services (NAQS) |
44. |
National Association of
Microbiologists |
45. |
Association of Airline Operators |
46. |
Port Health Workers |
47. |
Vessel Owners Association |
48. |
Representative of Coalition of Civil
Societies |
