Gombe Shines Again, Ranks Second in Northeast at 2025 PHC Leadership Challenge

Gombe Shines Again, Ranks Second in Northeast at 2025 PHC Leadership Challenge

By Auwal Ahmad Umar

Gombe State has reaffirmed its growing reputation as a pacesetter in primary healthcare delivery, emerging second best in the Northeast at the 2025 Primary Health Care (PHC) Leadership Challenge, ahead of four other states in the zone.

The strong showing earned the state a $400,000 reward in recognition of its sustained efforts to strengthen grassroots healthcare services. The award was presented at the 2025 PHC Leadership Challenge Awards Night held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja.

Vice President Kashim Shettima chaired the high-profile ceremony, which brought together governors, health sector leaders, and development partners from across the country.

Gombe’s latest feat builds on its impressive record from the previous year, when the state made history by winning the PHC Leadership Challenge Innovation Award—the first since the program was introduced—while also finishing second in the Northeast, a performance that equally attracted a $400,000 prize. The back-to-back recognition highlights the state’s consistency and long-term commitment to improving primary healthcare delivery.

The PHC Leadership Challenge is driven by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, and UNICEF, with backing from international partners including the Gates Foundation and the Aliko Dangote Foundation. The initiative encourages states to strengthen governance, financing, service delivery, sustainability, and health outcomes in line with the Seattle Declaration endorsed by all 36 governors in 2019.

Represented at the event by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, Vice President Shettima congratulated Gombe and other winning states while commending governors nationwide for demonstrating leadership and political commitment that have translated into visible gains in the health sector.

He stressed that the Federal Government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, is determined to reposition the health sector through increased budgetary allocation and far-reaching reforms, noting that sustained investment in health remains critical to national development. The Vice President also underscored the urgency of tackling lingering challenges around access to quality and affordable healthcare for millions of Nigerians.

In his remarks, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said the PHC Leadership Challenge was designed to drive performance through healthy competition among states, with the ultimate goal of improving the well-being of Nigerians.

Speaking after the ceremony, Gombe State Deputy Governor Manassah Daniel Jatau, who represented Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, described the award as a clear affirmation of the administration’s deliberate and sustained investment in the health sector.

Since assuming office in 2019, Governor Inuwa Yahaya has placed healthcare at the center of his development agenda, beginning with the declaration of a state of emergency in the sector. That decision led to the rehabilitation of at least one fully functional primary healthcare center in each of the state’s 114 wards, with several wards now boasting multiple facilities. Secondary health institutions have also been extensively upgraded to cope with rising demand.

Beyond infrastructure, the administration has rolled out far-reaching reforms, established critical health agencies, implemented forward-looking policies, and invested heavily in health workers. These efforts have expanded access to quality care, improved health outcomes, and positioned Gombe as a reference point in Nigeria’s push towards universal health coverage.

The state’s delegation to the awards ceremony included the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Habu Dahiru, and the Executive Secretary of the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Abdulrahman Shuaibu.