Headlines
Kano commences implementation of BHCPF scheme – official

Nasiru Yusuf
Kano state has commenced the implementation of Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) scheme.
KANO FOCUS reports that the state coordinator of BHCPF Nura Muhammad Yahaya announced this on Wednesday at an interactive session with the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) gateways and Ward Development Committee (WDC) on service provision tracking and follow up in Kano.
He added that 381 facilities have passed baseline assessment, saying that they will soon reassess the remaining 103 facilities.
Mr Yahaya said so far they have disbursed the sum of N229,171,500 to 381 facilities for two quarters where each facility get N300,750 per quarter.

The BHCPF coordinator noted that they have issued a check book to 172 head of primary health centres after thorough verification.
Mr Yahaya identified some of the challenges bedeviling the successful implementation of the programme including frequent transfer of trained health workers and political interference.
In his presentation, the deputy director programme in Kano state contributory healthcare management agency (KSCHMA) Abdullahi Sa’ad said the agency have enrolled 74,000 beneficiaries of BHCPF scheme.

Dr. Abdullahi Sa’ad
According to him “The scheme’s major role is to ensure the timely payments of funds to health facilities for service delivery and also the tracking of funds to ensure that funds are spent for its intended purposes.”

Malam Yunusa Hamza
Also speaking the PERL-ECP State facilitator Yunusa Hamza advocated for periodic interactive session with officials of KSPHCMB, KSCHMA, KanSLAM and WDCs to ensure the success of the program.
The meeting which was organised by Kano State Led Accountability Mechanism (KanSLAM) with the support of Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL ECP) was attended by government officials, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Journalists, Community Based Organisations (CBOs) and Ward Development Committees (WDCs).
Participants
The Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) scheme
The BHCPF is a health intervention scheme established under National Health Act (2014) to provide basic health care services to poor and vulnerable.
Its aim is to reduce maternal mortality rate by 31% (from 576 to 400 per 100,000 live births), neo maternal rate by 33% (from 39 to 26 per 1,000 live births) and under five mortality rate by 29% (from 120 to 85 per 1,000 live births) with 50% of BHCPF.
The purpose of the BHCPF is to ensure the provision of basic health care package of health services to all Nigerians through National Health Insurance Scheme NHIS and state Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency KSCHMA.
Another purpose of the programme is “Strengthening the Primary Health Care (PHC) system through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) with 45% of BHCPF.

Headlines
UTME: Kano suspends end of month sanitation exercise

Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
In a bid to ensure the smooth conduct of the ongoing Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination, the Kano State Government has temporarily suspended the April 2025, End of month sanitation exercise.
KANO FOCUS reports that this decision was taken after careful consideration and consultation with relevant stakeholders, in an effort to allow students of Kano State to write their examination without any hitches.

In a statement issued by the Director Public Enlightenment of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Ismail Garba Gwammaja has quoted the Commissioner of Environment and Climate Change Dr. Dahiru M. Hashim saying that:
“The suspension is aimed at preventing any potential disruptions to the examination process and ensuring that candidates can sit for their exams without any hindrance.”
The Commissioner assured residents that the suspension is temporary for this month, and that the sanitation exercise will resume in its full force next month May 2025, in the state.
The Commissioner however, appeals to residents to cooperate with the authorities and understand the rationale behind this decision.
“We are committed to maintaining a clean and healthy environment, and we will work tirelessly to ensure that our sanitation activities do not conflict with other important events in the state,” the commissioner said.
While Commending the residents for their understanding and cooperation to the present administration, urged them to continue to avoid indiscriminate dumping of waste and cooperates with our sanitation staff to ensure clean and healthy environment always, and pray for the successful conduct of students who will sit for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

Headlines
ACF inaugurates security committee in Kano

Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Chapter of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has inaugurated a security committee aimed at strengthening community-based responses to insecurity in the state and wider northern region.
KANO FOCUS reports that the committee was inaugurated on Tuesday at the ACF Secretariat by the Chairman of the ACF Board of Trustees in Kano State, Brigadier General Haliru Akilu (Rtd), who said the initiative was a strategic response to Nigeria’s growing security challenges.


Gen. Halliru Akilu inaugurating Gen. Idris Bello Dambazau while Dr Goni Faruk Umar is watching
Akilu described the committee as a platform for strategic engagement, grassroots intervention, and policy articulation to support formal security institutions.
“This committee is envisioned to serve as a fulcrum of strategic engagement and community-driven security intervention. It symbolizes our collective resolve to restore order and peace to our communities,” he said.
He noted that the committee draws membership from various security and paramilitary agencies including the NDLEA, Police, Hisbah, Civil Defence, FRSC, NAPTIP, and vigilante groups.

Gen. Halliru Akilu delivering his address
According to him, the committee is tasked with assessing the evolving security landscape in Kano and beyond, acting as a bridge between citizens and security agencies, and developing actionable, data-driven recommendations to promote peace, vigilance and resilience across ethnic, religious, and political divides.
General Akilu stressed that the committee must operate beyond bureaucratic routines and ensure its insights influence national policy. He also urged members to demonstrate integrity, confidentiality, and dedication.
Chairman of the committee, General Idris Bello Dambazau (Rtd), pledged to uphold the mandate of the committee with seriousness and discipline.

Gen. Idris Bello Dambazau (Rtd) granting interview to journalists
“We’re bringing the seriousness of military service into this assignment. Time in service is life. One minute can cost lives. That’s how seriously we’re taking this task,” he said, adding that the committee was set to begin work immediately.
On his part, the NDLEA Commander in Kano, Ahmed Idris, commended the synergy among security agencies in the state and expressed optimism that the ACF’s initiative would serve as a model for other states.

Cross section of members of the security committee
“In Kano, we’ve built a strong culture of collaboration. This committee reflects that spirit and the quality of its membership shows the seriousness of the ACF,” he said.
KANO FOCUS reports that the initiative comes as Kano and other northern states are facing security threats such as banditry, kidnapping, drug abuse, and youth radicalization. Observers say the ACF’s grassroots-focused approach could offer a much-needed complement to conventional security responses.

Gen. Halliru Akilu (rtd) inaugurating Gen. Idris Bello Dambazau (rtd)
Speakers at the event called for similar committees to be replicated across other states in the region, with hopes that the Kano model would become a blueprint for wider regional intervention.

Members of the security committee and ACF officials
General Akilu closed the event with a call for the committee to chart a new course for peace and security in the region, describing the inauguration as “a bold first step.”

Headlines
UNICEF asks Kano Govt to declare state of emergency on polio, routine immunisation

Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged the Kano State Government to declare a state of emergency on polio and routine immunisation due to the resurgence of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs) in the state.

KANO FOCUS reports that with18 polio cases recorded across nine states, including three in Kano, UNICEF Acting Chief of Field Office, Michael Banda, emphasized the need for urgent action. “Polio knows no boundaries. An outbreak anywhere threatens children everywhere,” he said.
Senior Education Manager and Officer-in-Charge, UNICEF Field Office, Kano, Michael Banda, made the revelation during a media dialogue on polio and routine immunization in Kano.

Mr Michael Banda
According to Banda, Kano accounted for three cases uncovered in Warawa, Nasarawa, and Bunkure local government areas of the state, amid zero immunization and misconceptions against the deadly infection.
cVDPV refers to a type of poliovirus that arises from the oral polio vaccine (OPV), used in the prevention of polio.
According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), on rare occasions, the weakened virus in the OPV can mutate and begin to circulate within a community, causing infections and potentially paralysis, similar to wild poliovirus.
Although Banda reminded that polio has been the leading cause of paralysis and death among children, he affirmed the disease is on the brink of eradication with vaccination of 3 billion children globally in the last 37 years.
The UNICEF boss, however, worried that the fight against polio is not over in some countries, including in Nigeria, because of low vaccination rates, thereby paving the way for polio outbreaks.
Banda explained that there is a collaboration with the Kano State Government through the Primary Health Care Management Board to broaden public knowledge on the potency of the vaccination.
He added that the media dialogue was targeted to solicit media support in raising awareness and mobilizing parents on the polio vaccination campaign in Kano ahead of World Immunization Week, beginning from 24th and 30th April 2025.
On her part, representative of Kano state Primary Healthcare Management Board, Hajiya Saadatu Ibrahim, identified challenges of hard-to-reach settlements, missing houses, zero-dose vaccination, and poor healthcare workers as major setbacks.

Hajiya Saadatu Ibrahim,
She reassured that the government has a renewed strategy to overcome the challenges, including a new method of recruiting immunization workers and the involvement of external supervisors
She said Kano State Government will immunize 4.1 million under five children.
A polio vaccination campaign is scheduled for April 24-30, 2025, coinciding with World Immunization Week. UNICEF is collaborating with the state government to raise awareness and mobilise parents.
