By Oluyemi Israel
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Kaduna State have launched a two-day training focused on creating and applying SMART advocacy initiatives to improve maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health while strengthening primary health care systems.
The Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI) partnered EngenderHealth consortium members to organise the workshop.
They brought together CSOs, media, government officials, donor partners, and health experts such as Prof. Bello Yusuf-Jamo and Dr. Anthony Shammah from the Gates Foundation.
Organisers explained that the training aimed to enhance participants’ advocacy skills and empower them to hold government leaders accountable for health services.
Habiba Ahmed-Aliyu, representing the Kaduna State Primary Health Development Agency, pointed out that adolescent pregnancies pose a significant challenge.
She noted, “Early child marriage is prevalent in northern parts of the state, while teenage pregnancies among unmarried adolescents are common in the south.”
She also identified cultural barriers and incomplete birth and death registrations as obstacles to effective health care.
The training occurred over two days in Kaduna State, Nigeria.
Facilitators guided participants through SMART advocacy processes, including analysing situations, identifying key issues, mapping targets, choosing communication strategies, and developing action plans with monitoring tools.
The Primary Health Development Agency outlined its plans to renovate over 290 health facilities, improve drug management, equip centers with advanced medical tools, and upgrade ambulance services.
Ahmed-Aliyu added, “Other interventions include better pay for health workers, laws for quick staff replacement, upgrading one facility per local government area to a Centre of Excellence, fair recruitment, and introducing mentor-mentee programs for knowledge sharing.”
Dr. Shammah expressed confidence that the workshop would “amplify the voices of CSOs and strengthen their advocacy capacity.”