Following a town hall meeting held by Nigeria Health Watch in Bunkure, Kano State, underlying issues, including lack of drugs, poor health workers’ attitudes, and misuse of Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KSCHMA) health cards were uncovered.
Bunkure PHC, a Level 2 facility in Kano State, serves thousands across nearby communities. Despite its critical role, especially in maternal health, residents had previously faced drug shortages, rude staff attitudes, and mismanagement of KSCHMA health cards of beneficiaries.
Three months later, Nigeria Health Watch returned to assess the impact of the gathering, to find out whether the issues raised were resolved and if lives have truly improved. Shuaibu Imam Alhassan, Chairman of the Ward Development Committee, recalled what happened after the event.
“They checked the records and confirmed what a beneficiary said about the misuse of KSCHMA beneficiaries’ cards. This discovery also led to the resolution of other underlying issues like poor health workers’ attitudes and absenteeism,” Shuaib said.
Sa’id Danjuma, a beneficiary, noted that, “before now, we had to buy drugs outside. Now they give us what we need and treat us with respect.”
According to Dr Muhammad Mukhtar Gora of KSCHMA, the Town Hall triggered immediate inspections, “we immediately went to the primary health centre to check the records and discovered that it wasn’t just one person being affected. There were many cases where people who were not even enrolled in the scheme were using other people’s cards to collect drugs. They did this by conniving with either the facility staff or drug store officers to get access to beneficiaries’ cards. In many cases, the drugs collected were later sold outside.”
He said this discovery prompted the formation of an investigative committee, resulting in recoveries and reforms statewide. “When we investigated, we discovered similar issues in other health facilities across the state, where we uncovered many irregularities and recovered a lot of money. Personnel involved have been reported to the Kano State PHC Management Board,” Dr Gora said.
Ali Garba Ibrahim, the KSCHMA Desk officer, stated that, “since the Town Hall meeting, we have upscaled and enrolled over 500 new participants in the scheme.”
The low staff remuneration, typically ranging from ₦8,000 to ₦10,000, has resulted in inadequate oversight and inefficiency. However, community pressure has prompted enforcement, improved enrolment numbers, and enhanced staff attitudes.
This progress reflects Nigeria’s Health Sector Renewal Plan (2023–2026), particularly its second pillar, which focused on strengthening PHC delivery, ensuring efficient, affordable, and quality health systems. Bunkure’s experience shows that when communities speak and are heard, real change happens.
Therefore, stakeholders must increase funding transparency, raise staff salaries, and scale up community engagement across all LGAs to address citizen health needs.