Nasarawa says maternal and child deaths have fallen in Keffi and Nasarawa local government areas following sustained health-policy interventions, state officials told a two-day Joint Annual Review in Lafia.
Commissioner for Health Dr Gaza Gwamna opened the 2026 stakeholders’ dialogue and credited deliberate policy adaptation for the shift. “Our maternal and child health has improved, and we have seen our enrolment in health insurance also improve. We have seen our surveillance, that is our health security, also improve,” he said, adding that policies formulated by the Federal Ministry of Health were adapted and implemented at the state level.
The review gathers health workers and partner organisations from across the state, including representatives from the Federal Ministry of Health and support from the World Health Organisation. Gwamna emphasised the event’s purpose, calling it a forum to assess planned activities, record progress and prepare for the next calendar year.
Health planning officials identified human resources and funding shortfalls as the main constraints on full policy execution. Dr Danjuma Baba, Director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics, said many programmes lack the staff needed to carry out core functions, and that both financial and human resource gaps continue to depress performance.
Baba praised the state government under Governor Abdullahi Sule for recently recruiting more than 100 nurses and other healthcare workers, while noting that further hiring will be required to expand services across Nasarawa’s 13 local government areas.
At the meeting Anna Joshua, Nasarawa State Sector-Wide Approach Desk Officer, set out recent implementation figures and the planning challenge ahead. “At the moment, for this second quarter, we have achieved 30 per cent implementation based on the annual operational plan we planned to implement for the second quarter. We are entering the third quarter now,” she said, noting the first quarter registered 22.3 per cent and that the incremental gain equates to a significant use of resources and time.
Organisers said the Joint Annual Review will produce a guide for the health sector for the next fiscal year, and urged participants to contribute concrete proposals. The state plans further recruitment and tighter implementation tracking as it moves into the third quarter, aiming to translate the claimed mortality reductions into sustained, statewide gains.
