Kaduna State House of Assembly Convenes to develop Legislative Health Agenda for the State

The Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Liman Dahiru convened other Principal Officers and members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly in Abuja to develop a Legislative Health Agenda, which would guide and inform legislative interventions in Kaduna State’s Health Sector for the next four years.

The 2-day strategic meeting which was organized by the Kaduna State Contributory Health Management Authority (KADCHMA) and supported by partners such as Save the Children, Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development (LISDEL) etc, held in Abuja between the 18th and 19th of September 2022.

The meeting had in attendance various actors including the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Umma K. Ahmed, the Director General of KADCHMA, Mal. Abubakar Hassan, other Heads of Agencies from the Ministry of Health, the Secretary to the State Government, Honourable Members representing Kaduna in the Federal House of Representatives among others.

In his remarks, the Rt. Hon Liman reiterated the readiness of the House of Assembly towards providing necessary support in addressing various issues in the health sector. He also emphasized the readiness of the legislature to collaborate and partner with the executive towards ensuring that citizens of the State have access to better healthcare services.

Also, in her Keynote Address, the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Ahmed pointed out the current gaps in the health sector in the State, such as inadequate funding, particularly in terms of releases and cash-backing of budgeted fund, and the vision and plans of the current administration in addressing them.

Mal. Abubakar Hassan, noted that, the meeting is the first of its kind to be convened by any State House of Assembly is symbolic and strategic. He also noted that the legislative interventions to be agreed upon during the meeting will help to address the various challenges with health financing and fast track financial risk protection for the people of Kaduna State, including the vulnerable groups.

The legislators who participated in the meeting deliberated on Kaduna State Healthcare Financing Policy and Strategy, the National Health Act and KADCHMA Benefit Package.

Ademuyiwa Damilola, a Program Manager in LISDEL led discussions with the legislators and other participants on the Roles of the Legislators towards achieving Universal Health Coverage and Kaduna State’s health system strengthening objectives using legislative statutory functions.

The draft Legislative Health Agenda was reviewed by the participants present. This will further receive inputs from the State Ministry of Health and partners supporting the State based on current realities and would be validated and adopted as working document of the Kaduna State House of Assembly to guide its activities and interventions in the health sector in the next four years.

Contributed Ademuyiwa Damilola

LISDEL