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.

The Pathfinder Country Director, Amina Dorayi, The Director General, Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board, and the Permanent Secretary, Kaduna State Ministry of Health, Dr. Aishatu Abubakar Sadiq at the workshop

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.