The Zazzau Emirate Council has been urged to deploy its newly established health committee and traditional leadership structures to intensify grassroots mobilisation for routine immunisation, child-spacing services and antenatal care as part of efforts to improve maternal and child health outcomes across the Emirate.

Garba Muhammad, Co-Chair of the Maternal Accountability Mechanism in Kaduna Initiative (KADMAM) and Chairman of the Alliance for Kaduna Accountability and Strategic Advocacy (AKASA) Network, made the call during a two-day strategic engagement organised by the Kaduna State Contributory Health Management Authority (KADCHMA), with support from the EngenderHealth-led Consortium Partners.

Muhammad said sustained mobilisation by traditional leaders could help improve uptake of essential health services and contribute to reducing maternal and under-five deaths across the 11 local government areas of the Zazzau Emirate.

He commended the Emir of Zazzau, Mallam Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli, for fulfilling commitments made during an earlier advocacy visit by KADMAM, AKASA Network and the EngenderHealth-led Consortium Partners.

Muhammed is also the chairman, Kaduna Health Advocacy and Media Alliance (KADHAMA).

He recalled that the advocacy team had called for the establishment of a Zazzau Emirate Health Committee, enrolment of Emirate Council members and their families into KADCHMA, and the development of a health dashboard to monitor key health indicators, particularly maternal and under-five deaths.

At the engagement, the Emir pledged to enrol 100 people into the KADCHMA scheme as part of efforts to expand health insurance coverage across the Emirate.

The Emir also directed members of the Zazzau Emirate Council to facilitate the enrolment of 10 people each, while the Sarkin Kudun Zazzau pledged to enrol 50 people.

The engagement was organised to develop a coordinated grassroots sensitisation and mobilisation strategy for health insurance, leveraging the traditional institution from the Emirate Council to district, village and community leaders.

Speaking at the event, the Director-General of KADCHMA, Mallam Abubakar Hassan, described the initiative as a major step towards achieving Universal Health Coverage in Kaduna State.

He said the campaign would focus on clear messages, measurable enrolment targets, defined responsibilities and effective tracking mechanisms to improve health insurance coverage, particularly among households and people working in the informal sector.

Hassan expressed appreciation to the Emir, the Emirate Council and EngenderHealth for their support, stressing that the ultimate goal was to protect families from financial hardship arising from healthcare costs.

As part of the grassroots strategy, district heads across the Zazzau Emirate are expected to mobilise residents within their domains for enrolment into the KADCHMA scheme.

Muhammad reaffirmed the commitment of KADMAM and the AKASA Network to continued collaboration with the Zazzau Emirate Council, government institutions and development partners to strengthen healthcare access, accountability and Universal Health Coverage in Kaduna State.