Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi) has handed over 28 solar energy-installed Primary Healthcare Centres to the Kano state government to enhance health services at the grassroots.

Gavi is a public and private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunisation in poor countries.

Gavi’s multi-million dollar alternative energy investment is thereby designed to strengthen immunisation services through the provision of adequate vaccine storage and sustain basic light that powers medical tools in Kano.

More than half the population of children under five across 28 local government areas of Kano do not receive their full course of vaccines, making the state among those with zero dose.

At the handing over ceremony of Pansekara Primary Health Centre, Kumbutso local government on Monday, Gavi Senior Country Manager, Jessica Crawford, said the global partners are supporting the immunisation program through solar electrification of health facilities to reduce zero dose in Kano.

Crawford explained that the initiative is designed to enhance the functionality of vaccine cold chains, power essential medical equipment, and improve maternal and primary health services.

“We expect the investment to result in improved service delivery, workforce stability, enhanced sustainability and ultimately result in more lives saved,” Crawford said.

UNICEF Field Office, Kano, Mr. Michael Banda, said the initiative is under the CDS3 Health System Strengthening Initiative targeted at Nigeria’s 100 zero-dose Local Government Areas, where a significant number of children are unvaccinated and deprived of primary health care services.

Banda emphasised that the initiative is more than an infrastructural impact but a means of providing a reliable electricity supply that enables proper vaccine refrigeration, round-the-clock primary health services, and reduced dependence on fossil fuels.

Banda added that Gavi’s selection of PHCs prioritised facilities located in zero-dose areas to ensure reach of the most underserved populations.

“Today, Gavi, our key immunisation partner and other crucial immunisation partners are here, and we are glad to hand over the solar systems in conjunction with the Gavi team to the State Government and National Primary Health Care Development Agency of Nigeria.

“We focused on facilities with unreliable or no connection to the national grid, aligning perfectly with our solarisation goals. Each selected site was actively providing routine immunisation services, with a preference for Level-2 Primary Health Care centres. And finally, we gave special attention to facilities having minimal human resources, aiming to strengthen capacity where it was most urgently needed,” Banda added.

Responding, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, applauded the intervention of Gavi and partners while pledging government commitment to ensure judicious management of the facilities.

The Commissioner disclosed the government’s willingness to reverse zero-dose immunisation in Kano and cautioned health workers to ensure the solar power is dedicated to health care use alone.