The Bauchi House of Assembly has reaffirmed its commitment to improving healthcare delivery and immunisation coverage to end zero dose across the state.
Speaker of the House, Abubakar Sulaiman, gave the assurance on Friday in Bauchi while receiving representatives of the Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN) and the Zero Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH) Community of Practice (CoP) during an advocacy visit.
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He stated that the Assembly, through its Committees on Health and Appropriations, had consistently advocated for increased budgetary allocations to the health sector.
“We acknowledge health as a foundation for societal development. Without good health, no society can function effectively,” he emphasised.
The speaker also reaffirmed the House’s readiness to conduct oversight visits to health facilities across the state to directly engage communities and assess healthcare service delivery.
He added that the Assembly remained committed to gender inclusion and the protection of women’s and children’s rights in all health-related policies.
AHBN Coordinator of Dr Aminu Magashi, commended the Assembly for its leadership role and urged lawmakers to strengthen their oversight and resource-tracking mechanisms to ensure every child in Bauchi was immunised.
“Bauchi is leading among the four states where we work, and this is because of the strong political will from both the assembly and the executive arm,”
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Also speaking, Bauchi State Focal Person for AHBN, Dr Hassan Musa appreciated the state government for creating a dedicated budget line for Immunisation.
He noted that N870 million had been earmarked in the 2025 budget as a basket fund to combat zero-dose prevalence in children.
Dr Musa highlighted gaps identified in the District Immunisation Monitoring (DIM) report and the scorecard, calling for greater focus on gender mainstreaming, community engagement, and social protection.
The Co-chair, Jinjiri Garba, lauded the Assembly for being responsive to the health sector’s needs and emphasised the importance of sustained collaboration to improve the state’s health indicators.