Amid critical security challenges, Zamfara Govt spends poorly on health, water infrastructure in first quarter of 2025
By Aminu Abubakar
A SolaceBase review of Zamfara State’s budget performance document for the first quarter of 2025 shows poor performance in capital expenditure for the water and health sectors.
Zero Capital Expenditure on Rural Water Supply
The capital expenditure budget for the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency of Zamfara State stood at N440 million for the 2025 fiscal year.
However, as of the first three months of the year, zero Naira had been spent, representing a 0.0% budget performance.
Health Sector Sees Minimal Spending
Despite a N52.2 billion capital budget for the health sector, only N295 million was spent during the first quarter of 2025.
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A Troubling Pattern in Past Expenditures
Zamfara State has a history of poor expenditure performance. In 2024, the total expenditure budget for the Primary Healthcare Development Agency was N336.5 million, but only N79.1 million was spent between January and September, just 23.5% of the budgeted amount.
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This marked a further decline from 2023, when N88.7 million was spent from a much larger budget of N1.889 billion, representing only 4.69% budget performance for that fiscal year.
Humanitarian Crisis: Health and Water Systems in Collapse
Zamfara State is facing a deepening humanitarian emergency. Amid rampant poverty, banditry, and mass displacement, two major crises stand out: the collapse of healthcare services and the persistent lack of access to clean water.
These twin crises have intensified human suffering, leading to preventable deaths, disease outbreaks, and widespread despair.
A Collapsing Healthcare System
Zamfara’s healthcare system is in critical condition. A 2022 report by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) revealed that over 70% of primary healthcare centres in the state are non-functional. Many facilities are either abandoned or lack essential medicines, equipment, and personnel.
According to the African Health Report, Zamfara’s doctor-to-patient ratio is 1 doctor to 20,533 patients, far above the World Health Organisation’s recommended ratio of 1 doctor to 600 patients. As a result, rural communities often rely on traditional birth attendants or untrained health workers for critical medical care.
Maternal and child mortality rates are alarmingly high. As of June 2024, the Zamfara State Commissioner for Health reported that no fewer than 950,000 women were at risk of maternal mortality.
Childhood diseases such as measles, pneumonia, and malnutrition-related illnesses continue to claim thousands of young lives annually.
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The healthcare system’s weakness was further exposed during a cholera outbreak in October 2023, when Zamfara recorded 1,118 cases and 40 deaths—a tragedy fueled by poor healthcare access and lack of clean water.
Water Crisis: A Daily Struggle for Survival
Access to clean and safe drinking water remains a major challenge. UNICEF estimates that only 30% of households in Zamfara have access to basic drinking water services, forcing the majority to rely on unsafe sources like open wells, streams, and seasonal ponds.
During the dry season, these water sources often dry up, forcing families—especially women and children—to walk up to 5 kilometers in search of water. During the rainy season, flooding and runoff contamination exacerbate the situation, spreading waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid.
The National Bureau of Statistics, in its Multidimensional Poverty Index, noted that 51% of households in Zamfara lack access to clean drinking water, while 79% lack access to sanitary facilities.
The water crisis not only threatens public health but also affects education and economic activities. Children, particularly girls, often miss school while fetching water, and farmers experience reduced crop yields due to inadequate irrigation.
Insecurity Worsens the Crisis
Ongoing armed banditry and communal conflicts have worsened Zamfara’s humanitarian crisis. Many healthcare workers have fled rural areas due to insecurity, leaving facilities abandoned. Water projects are also frequently stalled as contractors are unable to access insecure communities.
Displaced persons living in overcrowded camps with poor sanitation face even greater risks of disease outbreaks, further compounding the region’s humanitarian emergency.
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