Stakeholders have met in Kano to strengthen transparency, accountability and efficiency in the allocation, release and utilisation of immunisation funds in the state.
The Kano State Health Budget Tracking engagement was organised by Save the Children International with funding support from GlaxoSmithKline under the Better Opportunities for Optimal Services and Targeted Immunisation for Zero-Dose and Under-Immunised Children (BOOST) project.
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The programme was held in collaboration with the Kano Community of Practice (CoP) on Immunisation Budget Tracking Advocacy and Accountability.
In his welcome address, the BOOST Project Manager and Field Manager for Save the Children in Kano, Abdullahi Magama, urged participants to adopt proactive strategies to advocate increased immunisation funding.
He expressed concern over what he described as inadequate budgetary provisions for immunisation, noting that sustained and strategic advocacy could improve funding outcomes.
The State Policy and Advocacy Officer of Save the Children in Kano, Umar Ibrahim , said the meeting aimed to review, analyse and validate health and immunisation budget tracking data.
According to him, the validated data will be used to update the 2025 scorecard, identify funding and accountability gaps, and develop recommendations for dissemination to relevant stakeholders.
Umar identified limited access to timely and accurate data as a major accountability challenge, stating that obtaining comprehensive information often requires sourcing data from multiple institutions.
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The CoP Co-Chair, Salisu Yusuf, provided an update on the 2025 budget tracking baseline data collection process.
He said the exercise covered planning meetings, stakeholder engagement with data managers, data sourcing and analysis, as well as monitoring and feedback mechanisms.
Yusuf disclosed that 15 zero-dose Local Government Areas were identified in Kano through a national survey.
Also speaking, the Kano CoP Focal Person, Musa Bello, outlined key 2025 health and immunisation budget tracking indicators.
These include the total approved health sector budget, allocation to the Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board, total budgetary provision for immunisation, and approved funding for Routine Immunisation.
Participants at the engagement, drawn from civil society organisations, the media and other stakeholders under the Kano CoP framework, reiterated their commitment to strengthening immunisation financing and accountability mechanisms in the state.