Kaduna Deploys Open Governance Framework To Improve Primary Healthcare Delivery

The Kaduna State government has urged local government chairmen to embrace transparency, accountability and citizen participation as key tools for strengthening primary healthcare delivery, saying governance reforms are critical to improving health outcomes across communities.

Speaking at the opening of a three-day orientation workshop for local government chairmen on the domestication of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) for improved primary healthcare delivery, in Abuja, the deputy governor of Kaduna State, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, said challenges in maternal and child health were not only health sector issues but also questions of governance and leadership.

Dr. Balarabe said the workshop came at a crucial time in Kaduna State’s efforts to build a healthier and more prosperous society through a strengthened primary healthcare system.

She posed a series of questions to participants, asking who should be held responsible when pregnant women die from preventable complications, when children miss life-saving immunisation, or when primary healthcare centres lack medicines, equipment and trained personnel.

“These are not merely health sector questions. They are governance questions. They are leadership questions. They are questions that should challenge all of us,” she said.

According to her, strong primary healthcare systems remain the foundation of effective healthcare delivery, serving as the first point of contact for citizens and the cornerstone of universal health coverage.

“The health of our people is not merely a sectoral concern; it is a development imperative. A healthy population is more productive, more innovative and better positioned to contribute meaningfully to economic growth and social stability,” she said.

Balarabe noted that the revitalisation of primary healthcare remains a key pillar of Governor Sani’s Rural Transformation Agenda, stressing that investments in health must be accompanied by accountability and citizen engagement to produce meaningful results.

She reminded the local government chairmen of commitments made during an earlier retreat in Kano, where they agreed to prioritise maternal health, child health, nutrition and primary healthcare development across their councils.

“The promises made in Kano must become action. The resolutions adopted in Kano must become results. The responsibilities accepted in Kano must become accountability,” she said.

The deputy governor described OGP as a practical governance tool that promotes transparency, accountability and collaboration between government and citizens.

She said sustainable development depends on public trust, which can only be built when government institutions operate openly and respond to the needs of citizens.

“Development without accountability is unsustainable. Investment without transparency is inefficient. Governance without citizen engagement is incomplete,” she stated.

She urged the local government chairmen to adopt OGP not as a compliance obligation but as a strategy for improving service delivery, encouraging them to work closely with communities and civil society organisations while ensuring transparency in health financing and implementation.

“The success of OGP domestication will depend largely on your leadership, commitment and willingness to institutionalise open governance principles within your local government systems,” she added.

Earlier, Kaduna State Commissioner for Planning and Budget, Mukhtar Ahmed, said the workshop was designed to bridge the gap between state-level planning and local government implementation through the Local Government Partnership framework.

Ahmed said the state government was promoting a decentralised, co-creation approach that would allow citizens to actively participate in local planning and budgeting processes.

“What you are doing is gaining valuable allies who will help defend, implement and sustain development goals,” he told the council chairmen.

He explained that participants would be trained on establishing local OGP steering committees that would bring together government officials and civil society representatives to develop local government action plans focused on primary healthcare delivery.

Ahmed said the initiative would help improve healthcare financing, track resource allocation and ensure that investments in healthcare directly benefit vulnerable women and children across Kaduna State’s 23 local government areas.

He disclosed that all participating local governments are expected to co-create and submit their health-focused action plans to the State OGP Secretariat by July 2026.
The commissioner also commended development partners for supporting the programme.

Also speaking, Deputy Director of Policy, Advocacy and Communication at the Gates Foundation’s Nigeria Country Office, Ekenem Isichei, challenged the chairmen to focus on measurable improvements in healthcare delivery.

He said the real test of governance was whether women could access safe delivery services, children receive vaccinations and communities benefit from functional primary healthcare systems, adding that local leadership remains the most important factor in achieving health sector gains.

He urged the council chairmen to prioritise publishing and tracking health data, using evidence to guide decision-making, ensuring transparency in budget utilisation and creating channels for citizen feedback.

“As you develop your action plans, identify two or three changes you want to see between now and the next four months, changes your communities will see, feel and benefit from,” he said.

Isichei pledged the Gates Foundation’s continued support for the initiative, expressing optimism that the workshop would produce actionable local government plans, stronger government-citizen partnerships and improved healthcare outcomes across the state.

The three-day workshop is expected to equip local government chairmen with the knowledge and tools needed to domesticate OGP principles and strengthen primary healthcare governance at the grassroots level.