A coalition of civil society organisations, government officials and media practitioners under the Kano State Led Accountability Mechanism (KanSLAM) has expressed concern over delays in the release of funds allocated for maternal, newborn and child health in Kano State.
The group raised the concern at a media parley on preventing maternal and child mortality held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Kano, warning that the situation is adversely affecting health outcomes for women and children.
KanSLAM Co-chair, Maimuna Muhammad, said delayed and inadequate funding is undermining key services, including child spacing and family planning.
She stressed that funds appropriated for health programmes must be released promptly and utilised strictly for their intended purposes.
While commending the state government for meeting the 15 percent Abuja Declaration benchmark for health sector funding in 2026, she noted that allocation alone is insufficient without timely release and effective utilisation.
Muhammad also called on the media to intensify advocacy and public enlightenment on maternal and child health issues, particularly the importance of family planning.
In a presentation, KanSLAM consultant, Sulaiman Ismail, said increased budgetary allocations to the health sector have yet to translate into improved service delivery due to gaps in fund releases and implementation.
He disclosed that the health sector accounted for 13 percent of the state budget in 2024, declined to 12 percent in 2025, and rose to 15 per cent in 2026.
“Despite the increase, inconsistencies in fund releases and low execution of capital projects continue to hinder effective service delivery,” he said.
Ismail further noted that maternal, reproductive health and family planning programmes are embedded within primary healthcare, making it difficult to track funding and assess impact.
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He identified other challenges to include population growth, inadequate funding for family planning, limited data availability and reliance on donor support.
He recommended timely release of funds, population-based budgeting and improved transparency to enhance accountability and reduce dependence on donors.
Also speaking, the Kano Team Lead of the Task Shifting Task Sharing (TSTS) project at Pathfinder International, Gombe Ibrahim, emphasised the need for sustained stakeholder engagement to ensure accountability and reduce maternal and neonatal deaths.
