Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency has held one day expanded state over-sight committee meeting and Abuja commitment,with 25 local government councils Chairmen and District Heads in attendance,held at Haske Hotels Minna.

In his keynote address, the Commissioner for Health,Dr.Murtala Mohammad Bagana stressed that the Abuja commitment meeting is aimed to review activities of the Ministry and it’s relevant agencies,noting that the meeting afford the stakeholders opportunity to ask questions to see how it can improve the new Niger Health Agenda of Governor Umar Bago administration.

Dr.Bagana appreciated development partners, civil society organizations,ALGON, traditional Institutions as well as the staff and management of the ministry for their immense contributions towards ensuring that immunization campaign in the state recorded successes at all levels.

The Commissioner maintained that the Niger is doing well as a state, saying that though,insecurity and
trans-boarder movement,state can not be far from polio.

The Abuja Commitment was adopted in 2001 in Abuja by African leaders to strengthen health systems across the continent. It committed countries to allocate at least 15% of national budgets to health, aiming to combat major diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.

While it remains a key policy framework under the African Union, implementation has been uneven, with many countries yet to meet the funding target despite its importance in improving healthcare delivery.

Earlier, the Chairman, Traditional Leaders Council on Immunization in the North Central States,and Emir of Kagara,Mal.Ahmed Garba Guna II,represented by Dr.Chindo Ibrahim Bisallah,stated that the responsibility of the traditional Institutions is to ensure that their communities are mobilized to ensure that they participate actively to make sure that during the campaign,all the eligible children are vaccinated.

The royal father noted that the traditional councils also ensure that if there were issues during the course of implementation without resolving it,such as non-acceptance, non-compliance as well as trying to identify new settlements.

The monarch added”.As you are aware, migrants came from one place to another,those are also source of infection to ensure that if there are eligible children among them are also vaccinated”.He said.

According to him”.We equally participated in the supervision of immunization activities from day one to the last day,we participated in the review meetings to identify what are the issues in different localities,so that those issues can be resolved, that’s what the traditional councils contributed to ensure that the campaigns are hitch free”.

On their parts, Chairman of Kontagora local government, Barrister Lawal Yusuf,and that of Chanchaga,Dr Mustafa Alheri,who represented the ALGON,had pledged the commitment of all the 25 local governments Chairmen towards the Abuja commitment meeting to ensure that the councils do everything needed from them for the full implementation and actualization of the meeting.

In their separate goodwill messages, the representative of UNICEF,CSO’s and other development partners pledged to sustain their synergy in order to achieve desire objectives of campaign against Polio Virus and other diseases in the state.