The Katsina State Government has recruited more than 1,000 frontline healthcare workers as part of efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery, Governor Dikko Umaru Radda announced on Friday while unveiling fresh gains in the state’s health sector.

Speaking at the flag-off of the enrolment of 184,105 beneficiaries into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) across the state’s 361 political wards at the General Hospital, Katsina, the governor said enrolment under the Katsina State Health Insurance Scheme had increased from 355,000 beneficiaries in 2023 to 583,460 in 2026, representing a 64 per cent growth in three years.

Radda also announced that enrolment in the state health insurance scheme has become mandatory for all government employment programmes, saying the policy is intended to protect workers from catastrophic healthcare costs and accelerate the state’s drive towards Universal Health Coverage.

He said Katsina has become one of Nigeria’s leading states in healthcare financing and service delivery, noting that the Katsina State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KTSCHMA) won the National Health Insurance Excellence Award in both 2024 and 2025 and has hosted peer-review visits from several states.

The governor highlighted other achievements of his administration, including the revitalisation of primary healthcare centres, the establishment of specialised facilities such as the Imaging and Cancer Treatment Centre and Dialysis Centre, and the upgrading of several Comprehensive Health Centres into General Hospitals.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Musa Adamu Funtua, said the administration had recruited over 1,000 frontline healthcare workers, revitalised more than 200 Primary Healthcare Centres, expanded the Drug Revolving Fund by 400 per cent, and increased funding for the state’s Free Medicare Programme by 207 per cent.

He added that KTSCHMA’s healthcare financing model has transformed services at the General Hospital, Katsina, through the renovation and expansion of critical facilities, the revival of an abandoned operating theatre, the establishment of a Special Care Baby Unit and the provision of modern medical equipment.

The ’irector-General of KTSCHMA, Mohammed Safana, said more than half a million residents had been enrolled in the health insurance scheme as of July 2026. He disclosed that the agency financed 205,693 severe malaria treatments, 142,293 hypertension cases, 83,787 diabetes cases, 223 Caesarean Sections and 150 Evacuation of Retained Products of Conception (ERPC) procedures within the last year.

Safana appealed to Governor Radda to approve the full implementation of the Katsina State Health Trust Fund to ensure sustainable healthcare financing and preserve the achievements recorded in the sector.

The event was attended by top government officials, members of the State Executive Council, traditional rulers, development partners and healthcare stakeholders. (LEADERSHIP)

Update news