Yobe Tops National PHC Leadership Awards, Bags $1.2m for Grassroots Health Reforms

Yobe Tops National PHC Leadership Awards, Bags $1.2m for Grassroots Health Reforms

Yobe State has clinched the top honor at the 2025 National Primary Health Care (PHC) Leadership Challenge Awards, emerging as the Overall Best Performing State in recognition of its sustained efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery at the grassroots.

The award was presented during the third edition of the PHC Leadership Challenge Award Night held in Abuja on Friday. Yobe State received a grand prize of $700,000 for its overall performance and an additional $500,000 after winning the Zonal Best Performing State award for the Northeast, bringing its total winnings to $1.2 million.

The prestigious initiative was organized by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and UNICEF, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The program is designed to promote accountability, encourage innovation, and stimulate healthy competition among states in improving primary healthcare outcomes.

Yobe’s selection was based on key performance benchmarks, particularly its strong showing in quality of care and patient satisfaction across primary healthcare facilities.

Across the six geopolitical zones, states that won the zonal best-performing awards, each with a prize of $500,000, include Nasarawa (North-Central), Zamfara (North-West), Abia (South-East), Rivers (South-South), and Osun (South-West).

The first runners-up in each zone—Gombe, Kwara, Kaduna, Anambra, Bayelsa, and Ogun states—each received $400,000.

In total, $6.1 million was awarded to states, with the funds expected to be ploughed back into strengthening primary healthcare infrastructure, improving service delivery, and building human resource capacity. The initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s National Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII), which places primary healthcare at the center of achieving universal health coverage.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima, while congratulating the award recipients, praised state governors for their leadership and commitment to improving health outcomes nationwide. Represented by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, the Vice-President said constructive competition such as the PHC Leadership Challenge ultimately benefits the entire country.

He highlighted notable progress in the health sector since governors entered into a long-term sector-wide agreement with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu two years ago, noting that at least 20 states exceeded their health targets in 2024 alone.

According to him, state governments have also significantly increased health budget allocations, now estimated at ₦2.6 trillion, compared to previous years.

“Health is central to national development. Wherever you find positive health, someone has deliberately invested in it,” he said, urging both federal and state governments to deepen their commitments to the sector.

Shettima called on states to further scale up health spending, projecting that total national health investment should reach ₦3.5 trillion in the next fiscal year, considering available resources.

He acknowledged ongoing challenges around the affordability of healthcare services but noted that the Federal Government was taking steps to reduce the cost of medicines, diagnostics, and medical tests, especially for vulnerable Nigerians. He encouraged states to actively support these interventions.

The vice president also outlined the broader benefits of health sector investment, including a healthier and more productive population, stronger human capital, job creation, and industrial growth. He cited the establishment of Africa’s first factory producing long-lasting insecticide-treated nets as an example of how health investments can stimulate local manufacturing.

Speaking on behalf of the winning states, Abia State Governor Alex Otti commended the organizers and development partners for sustaining the initiative, assuring that states would push for even higher standards in 2026.

He stressed that health spending should not be viewed purely as an investment expecting financial returns but as a fundamental necessity for human survival and well-being.

Also reacting, Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal said the $500,000 won by his state would be channelled into refurbishing selected primary healthcare centers.

“It is encouraging when your efforts are recognized. This additional funding will go straight into improving PHC facilities in Zamfara,” he said, adding that despite funding constraints, his administration would continue to prioritize the health sector.

The 2025 PHC Leadership Challenge Awards once again underscored the growing emphasis on primary healthcare as the backbone of Nigeria’s health system and a critical pathway to better health outcomes for millions of citizens.