Kano trains health officers to boost immunization, health planning efforts

The Kano State Government has commenced a training program aimed at strengthening the capacity of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) officers and Annual Operational Plan Coordinating Leads (AOPCL) across the 44 local government areas of the state.

The event, supported by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, was titled “Towards Rational, Realistic, Pragmatic and Comprehensive Plan that Informs Health Budget for the People of Kano State.”

Speaking during the training on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, said the program is designed to equip the officers with the necessary skills to improve health planning and ensure efficient monitoring and evaluation of health activities.

He explained that the training follows a national-level session held in Abuja for trainers, who have now returned to Kano to cascade the training to the grassroots level.

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“This training is about capacity building of our M&E officers and AOPCL officers. These officers play a crucial role in planning health activities and evaluating what is happening across the state.

“We want them to have the knowledge and ability to plan health activities over one, two, or even three years,” Dr. Yusuf stated.

He also addressed concerns over the high number of unimmunized children in Kano, attributing the challenge to the influx of people from neighbouring states due to insecurity.

“In the last two years, we have been proactive. Kano State has an Immunization Task Force, chaired by the Deputy Governor and co-chaired by me.

“The committee involves district and ward heads and is working to ensure that every child in Kano is immunized,” he said.

Dr. Yusuf emphasized that the state is implementing an Intensified Elimination of Zero-dose (IEV) strategy and has strengthened routine immunization efforts, which had previously suffered neglect, leading to outbreaks such as diphtheria.

He further credited Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for reviving immunization programmes.

Although he did not provide specific figures on un-immunized children in the state, Dr. Yusuf noted that over two million children across Nigeria remain un-immunized, with the majority located in the northern region.

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He said Kano and other northwestern states are likely among the worst affected.

Also speaking, Nazifi Mahmud, Chairman of the Monitoring and Evaluation Officers in the state, described the training as vital for their work, particularly in developing the Annual Operational Plan (AOP) for each local government.

“The AOP focuses on reducing maternal and child mortality and increasing immunization coverage, especially for children with zero doses.

“After this training, we will return to our LGAs to develop specific operational plans for 2026,” Mahmud said.

He added that the forum comprises 44 M&E officers—one from each local government—and that over 100 participants are attending the current training.

The initiative is part of Kano’s broader effort to enhance health service delivery and ensure no child is left behind in immunization coverage.