UNICEF Hands Over 3 Renovated PHCs in Katsina, Urges Adequate Staffing and Maintenance

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has renovated and handed over three Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities across Daura, Batagarawa, and Funtua Local Government Areas of Katsina State, while urging the state government to ensure the facilities are adequately staffed and properly maintained to sustain the benefits of the intervention.

The renovated facilities, upgraded under the Global Fund, are the Maternal and Child Health Centre (MCHC) in Bakiyawa, Batagarawa LGA; the Sabon Gari Primary Health Centre in Daura LGA; and the Dandutse Primary Health Centre in Funtua LGA.

Handing over the renovated Bakiyawa MCHC on Thursday, the Health Manager at UNICEF's Field Office in Kano, Dr Serekeberehan Seyoum, called for sustained investment in Katsina's healthcare sector in order to more effectively tackle health challenges affecting women and children across the state.

Seyoum explained that the formal handover transferred full responsibility for the management, utilisation, and maintenance of the three facilities to the Katsina State Primary Health Care Development Agency. He urged the state government and other relevant authorities to ensure adequate staffing, the regular provision of essential medicines and medical supplies, and routine maintenance of the upgraded facilities going forward. "We encourage the state government to ensure adequate staffing, provision of essential supplies, routine maintenance, and the prompt commencement of quality service delivery so that communities can immediately benefit from this investment," he said.

According to Seyoum, the successful completion of the renovation projects is expected to significantly improve working conditions for health workers stationed at the facilities, while enhancing overall health outcomes, particularly for women, children, and other vulnerable groups within the benefiting communities. "The facilities are now ready to provide quality health services to their respective communities," he said, expressing confidence that the upgraded infrastructure would translate into tangible improvements in service delivery.

Beyond the immediate handover, Seyoum also called for the prompt commencement and sustained delivery of quality healthcare services at the three centres, stressing that this would enable communities to derive the maximum possible benefit from UNICEF's investment.

Speaking at the same event, the Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Shaumau Abba, commended UNICEF and the Global Fund for the intervention. He assured that the agency, working in collaboration with the respective local government councils, would provide the necessary equipment and personnel needed to ensure the renovated facilities operate effectively going forward.

Also speaking at the handover, the Chairman of Batagarawa Local Government Council, Alhaji Yahaya Lawal-Kawo, represented by his Vice-Chairman, Abdulrahman Ahmad, pledged the council's commitment to protecting and maintaining the newly upgraded facility. He assured stakeholders that the council would work closely with relevant partners to ensure the community derives full benefit from the renovated centre.

The Katsina handover forms part of a broader UNICEF push across Northern Nigeria to strengthen primary healthcare infrastructure through the renovation and upgrading of PHC facilities, an effort that has similarly extended to Kano State in recent weeks, where UNICEF has been commissioning renovated facilities under comparable Global Fund-supported interventions. Across these various handovers, UNICEF officials have consistently stressed the same core message: that renovated buildings alone cannot guarantee improved health outcomes unless paired with sustained government investment in staffing, medical supplies, and ongoing maintenance.

The intervention is expected to strengthen the delivery of essential health services at the grassroots level and improve access to quality care within the benefiting communities, part of a broader three-year work plan (2025-2027) signed between the Katsina State Government and UNICEF aimed at boosting health, education, nutrition, and child protection outcomes across the state. Whether the anticipated improvements in service delivery materialise, however, will depend significantly on how quickly and consistently the Katsina State Government follows through on UNICEF's calls for adequate staffing and sustained facility maintenance in the months ahead.