UNICEF, GAC Partnership Strengthens Health Governance, Others in Bauchi

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi The partnership between Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Bauchi State has recorded significant progress in strengthening gender-responsive health governance, improving healthcare delivery and empowering women and communities in the state. The Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Nigeria, Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, disclosed this yesterday during a two-day visit by a delegation from Global Affairs Canada to Bauchi State, where the team assessed development interventions and their impact on the state’s healthcare sector. Rafique, who was represented by Dr. Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ado, said Canada’s investment through the partnership was producing tangible results, particularly in addressing challenges affecting children, adolescents, and women. She explained that the collaboration was strengthening healthcare systems, promoting gender equality, empowering girls and women, building resilient communities and improving health outcomes for children and young people. According to her, one of the major achievements of the partnership is the promotion of gender equality and women’s participation in health-related decision-making. She said the programme had mobilised and engaged 6,460 women through Mama2Mama support groups, positioning them as community advocates for improved healthcare practices. She added that the intervention had contributed to an 18.6 per cent increase in women’s participation in decisions relating to contraceptive use, antenatal care and institutional delivery, including skilled birth attendance. On strengthening governance and leadership in health and nutrition, Rafique disclosed that sustained engagement and advocacy with government institutions had helped mobilise hundreds of millions of naira in funding from local and state governments for nutrition commodities in 2025. She described the development as an important step towards increasing domestic financing, strengthening government ownership and ensuring the sustainability of nutrition interventions. The UNICEF official further revealed that 398 health workers had been trained in Essential Newborn Care, the management of Postpartum Haemorrhage (PPH), Health Logistics Management Information Systems (HLMIS), and the District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2). She said the training was aimed at improving the quality of healthcare services, strengthening the management of medical commodities and enhancing the use of routine health data for evidence-based decision-making. On child nutrition, she disclosed that the project supported Vitamin A supplementation during the first half of 2026, reaching 1,626,825 children aged between six and 23 months with two doses. According to her, the intervention is contributing to the prevention of vitamin A deficiency and strengthening child survival efforts across the state. Rafique also highlighted the programme’s interventions in adolescent and young people’s health, saying it supported the operationalisation of 102 Adolescent and Young People’s Health Clubs across 11 MAMI local government areas. She said the initiative reached 208,920 adolescents and young people in 2025 with integrated information and services covering sexual and reproductive health, HIV prevention and nutrition. She added that 1,058 women and adolescent girls had benefited from practical skills development in reusable sanitary pad production, an intervention designed to improve menstrual health and hygiene knowledge while encouraging healthy practices. Other priorities, she said, included promoting equitable access to essential health and nutrition services, reducing home deliveries and the number of unimmunised and zero-dose children, as well as expanding high-impact interventions for children under five, adolescents, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. She further identified gender equality and women’s empowerment, increased domestic resource mobilisation for health, nutrition, education and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as key areas of the partnership. On sanitation, she said UNICEF was supporting efforts to improve hygiene practices, promote sanitation facilities and help Bauchi attain Open Defecation Free (ODF) status through the implementation of the Clean Nigeria Campaign. In his remarks, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sani Muhammad Dambam, appreciated the Global Affairs Canada delegation for the visit, and expressed the state’s readiness to consider recommendations that would emerge from the assessment of the healthcare sector. Dambam expressed satisfaction with the contributions of development partners to the growth of the state’s health sector, noting that the Bauchi State Government had continued to prioritise healthcare delivery. He assured the delegation of thestate’se willingness to welcome constructive recommendations and strengthen collaboration with development partners to address existing challenges and improve healthcare services for residents. Access Pensions MD Joins Industry Leaders to Launch PenCom’s Initiatives Nume Ekeghe Access Pensions has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting initiatives that strengthen Nigeria’s pension industry and improve retirement outcomes for Nigerians, following its participation in the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives launch held recently in Abuja. The event, organised by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), featured the presentation of the Presidential Pension Legacy Award to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in recognition of his administration’s interventions in the pension industry. The award was presented on behalf of the pension industry by the Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Pensions, Sa’adu A. Jijji. The ceremony was also attended by the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Innocent Ike. The event also witnessed the unveiling of two key initiatives by PenCom aimed at strengthening retirement security and improving retirees’ welfare: the Minimum Pension Guarantee, which establishes a minimum monthly pension of N52,500 for eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), and PenCare, a healthcare initiative designed to provide low-income retirees with access to essential medical services at no cost. President Tinubu, who was represented at the event by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, was recognised by the industry for his administration’s efforts to address longstanding pension obligations, expand coverage to the informal sector and strengthen the framework for sustainable retirement benefits. Speaking at the event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Pensions, Sa’adu A. Jijji, expressed appreciation to the president for his commitment to repositioning the pension industry, noting that the appointment of the current leadership of PenCom had brought renewed direction and positive changes to the sector. Jijji particularly acknowledged the appointment of the Director-General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, describing her leadership as a reflection of the impact that young professionals and women could make when entrusted with critical responsibilities. He said: “We are truly grateful to Mr President, first, for appointing the current leadership of the National Pension Commission, and particularly for appointing the Director-General of the Commission. “We have seen what appointing a young person can do for an industry, and what appointing a woman can bring to an industry. When you have a young woman leading the industry, you can see the difference and the positive changes taking place. “So, thank you very much, sir, for all the initiatives that have been implemented and for the support we have continued to receive. We are truly grateful.” His remarks underscored the importance of regulatory leadership and sustained collaboration between pension operators and the Commission in strengthening an industry that plays a critical role in Nigeria’s long-term savings and retirement security architecture. For Access Pensions, the ongoing reforms represent an important opportunity to deepen public confidence in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), particularly at a time when the industry is seeking to expand participation, improve retirement outcomes and address concerns around the adequacy of pension benefits. Earlier, the DG of PenCom, Oloworaran, said the decision to honour President Tinubu was a collective recognition by the pension industry of his administration’s interventions, which she noted had helped address some of the challenges that previously undermined confidence in the system. According to her, the award was presented on behalf of Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs), Closed Pension Fund Administrators and PenCom. “The pension industry, comprising Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs), Closed Pension Fund Administrators and, of course, the National Pension Commission (PenCom), is pleased to present the Presidential Pension Legacy Award to Mr President in recognition of his lasting interventions in the industry,” she said. Oloworaran noted that the administration’s efforts to clear outstanding pension obligations and extend the benefits of the pension system to previously underserved segments of the population had helped rebuild trust in the industry. “As I said earlier, this President has changed the pension industry landscape in this country forever by ensuring that dignity is restored to Nigerians, putting measures in place to ensure that the informal sector is not left out, and restoring confidence in the industry by clearing outstanding obligations that had caused people to begin to doubt the system,” she stated. She further explained that the recognition went beyond the immediate interventions of the administration, reflecting the industry’s appreciation of policies intended to strengthen retirement security for future generations. “The industry is happy once again to present the Presidential Pension Legacy Award to Mr President today in recognition of his historic leadership in transforming Nigeria’s pension system, restoring dignity to retirees, and securing the future of generations of Nigerians. “Mr President, thank you for transforming the pension industry and securing the future of generations,” Oloworaran added. The ceremony also provided an opportunity for the Federal Government to reaffirm its commitment to improving the welfare of retirees through the introduction of the PenCare Health initiative and the Minimum Pension Guarantee (MPG).