By Lizzy Carr
The Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Y. Suleiman, has reaffirmed the Assembly’s commitment to the protection and promotion of the rights of women and children in the state, despite the absence of female representation in the current legislature.
He made the declaration while receiving the Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the African Health Budget Network (AHBN), Dr. Aminu Maigashi Garba, and members of the Zero Dose Learning Hub Community of Practice (ZDLH CoP), who paid him an advocacy visit at the Assembly complex.
Speaker Suleiman stated that every lawmaker in the House is a firm supporter of the HeForShe campaign and is fully aligned with the push for better health and gender outcomes. He emphasized that health is central to development, hence the State Government and the Assembly are committed to prioritizing the health sector through adequate and timely budgeting.
As part of his commitment, the Speaker pledged to accompany the House Committee on Health on one of its oversight visits to healthcare facilities in the state to personally assess operations and challenges on the ground. He was accompanied by the Chairman of the House Committee on Health, Dauda Lawal, and the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Mohammed Wamzam.
Coordinator of African Health Budget Network Dr. Aminu Maigashi Garba commended Bauchi State for leading the way in immunization budgeting and release among the four states where the network operates.
“I am impressed that Bauchi allocation for immunization of 872 million naira was passed by the house in the 2025 budget and also the State has released the amount 100%.”
He encouraged the House to strengthen its oversight efforts and recommended that the Speaker personally select a healthcare facility to monitor and track the ultilisation of the funds and the implementation of life saving immunization interventions especially in zero dose local government areas.
Bauchi State AHBN team lead, Dr. Hassan Shuaibu Musa, said the advocacy visit was aimed at reviewing the state’s immunization financing documents, identifying existing gaps, and proposing practical solutions. He disclosed that based on their review of the 2023/2024 immunization funding, Bauchi State is making commendable progress.
Dr. Hassan expressed appreciation to the Assembly and called on the it to sustain prioritization of immunization financing and ensure the inclusion of women issues and the social protection interventions to promote gender inclusion for better health outcomes.
Also speaking, the Co-Chair of the CSOs for the Zero Dose Learning Hub Community of Practice, Jinjiri Garba, applauded the political will demonstrated by the Bauchi State Government in the health sector. He called for increased domestic appropriation for health in view of the steady decline in donor funding.
During the visit, the Speaker was presented with the Immunization Budget Accountability Scorecard, a tool to help track state performance and transparency in health financing.
