By Justina Auta
The Federal Government has called for sustained support for health sector reforms as Technical Advice Connect (TAConnect) announced it identified more than 60,000 zero-dose children in Kano State, thereby boosting immunisation efforts.
The call was made on Wednesday in Abuja during TAConnect’s fifth anniversary celebration, themed, “Strengthening Systems, Scaling Innovation, Sustaining Change,” which brought together government officials, partners and development stakeholders.
Dr Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, said partnerships remained critical to achieving the objectives of the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (HSRII) nationwide.
Salako, represented by Dr Ahmad Ozi, Director of Family Health, said the initiative was repositioning healthcare as a strategic national investment through improved governance, service delivery and accountability mechanisms.
He said the reform agenda was also focused on strengthening the health workforce, improving information systems and ensuring sustainable healthcare financing to achieve better health outcomes nationwide.
According to him, TAConnect’s interventions over the past five years aligned with government priorities, particularly in strengthening maternal, newborn and child healthcare services across participating states.
He commended the organisation for supporting group antenatal care, building frontline health workers’ capacity, developing maternal health guidelines and expanding access to child immunisation services nationwide.
“Immunisation remains one of the most impactful public health interventions and serves as a key entry point for integrated maternal, newborn and child health services.
“We therefore call on partners to continue aligning support with government priorities and focus on building sustainable systems that endure beyond project timelines,” he said.
Dr Lilian Anomnachi, Executive Director of TAConnect, said the organisation had expanded interventions across 19 states, supporting governments at national and sub-national levels to strengthen health systems.
She said that more than one million pregnant women had been registered under TAConnect’s flagship group antenatal care programme implemented in about 1,500 health facilities nationwide.
According to Anomnachi, the programme has become the largest group antenatal care initiative globally, helping improve maternal health outcomes and access to quality healthcare services.
She also revealed that the organisation identified more than 60,000 children who missed routine vaccinations, commonly known as zero-dose children, across 15 local government areas in Kano State.
Anomnachi said TAConnect continued supporting governments to institutionalise maternal and neonatal health innovations through the development of policies, operational guidelines and training curricula nationwide.
She identified inadequate staffing at many primary healthcare centres as a major challenge affecting healthcare delivery, particularly at the grassroots level where demand for services remained high.
However, she welcomed ongoing government efforts under the sector-wide approach to deploy more midwives to primary healthcare facilities and strengthen frontline healthcare delivery nationwide.
“The gap has been recognised and is gradually being addressed through government-led reforms,” she said.
Also speaking, Dr Mohammad Abdulrrahan, Chairman of TAConnect Board of Directors, said the organisation had evolved into a trusted technical partner supporting governments to strengthen healthcare systems.
He said TAConnect’s interventions supported primary healthcare governance, improved service delivery, strengthened workforce capacity, promoted data-driven decision-making and scaled maternal and newborn health innovations nationwide.
Abdulrrahan added that the organisation had supported the rollout of the largest group antenatal care model in sub-Saharan Africa and expanded interventions for postpartum haemorrhage prevention.
He also unveiled TAConnect’s 2025–2030 Strategic Plan, designed to deepen partnerships, promote digital innovation and advance locally driven solutions for sustainable healthcare development.
Dr Muyi Aina, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said TAConnect’s model aligned with the government’s health renewal agenda.
Aina, represented by Nana Sanda-Abubakar, Director of Community Health Services, said the agency would continue consolidating reforms aimed at improving reproductive, maternal, newborn and child healthcare services.
Similarly, Ms Onyeka Igwebuike, Interim Deputy Director, Strategy, Planning and Management at the Gates Foundation, reaffirmed the foundation’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s health sector through partnerships.
She said strengthening health systems, improving maternal and child health outcomes, expanding immunisation coverage and building resilient healthcare systems required sustained collaboration among stakeholders.
The event featured panel discussions on strengthening partnerships for sustainable impact, the inauguration of TAConnect’s anniversary publication and Strategic Plan, and awards for key health sector stakeholders.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru