By Amina Dorayi, Country Director, Pathfinder International Nigeria
In Nigeria’s Kano state, maternal mortality rates are higher than the national average. Too often, women are losing their lives during pregnancy and childbirth.
The population in Kano state is huge—one of the most populous states in Nigeria—and no matter what type of support we provide, women will continue to be in the same situation if the government doesn’t provide sustainable funding for women’s health.
Despite recent financial commitments, with over 15% of Kano’s budget allocated to health, the state continues to struggle with meeting key maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) standards, as reflected in the 2024 National Demographic and Health Survey. And women are dying as a result.
It is one thing to strengthen health services and ensure essential commodities are available—but that’s not enough. Communities must voice their concerns and demand change. Governments won’t make investments that are meaningful to communities without a push.
For this dire situation to change, communities must demand it.
A local movement for maternal health
Pathfinder has been working with a coalition of Kano-based organizations to mobilize communities and locally led advocacy initiatives that prioritize women’s health in the state. Our work with the Kano State Accountability Mechanism (KanSLAM)—a group of civil society organizations (CSOs), media outlets, and government ministries—is contributing to improved government accountability for MNCH.
KanSLAM is responsible for strengthening systems and tracking progress related to the government’s budgetary commitments. With KanSLAM, we are better able to identify the bureaucratic bottlenecks to delivering improved health care to women and policies that need to be place.
Pathfinder has worked in Kano over the years to improve uptake of life-saving vaccines, prevent postpartum haemorrhage, and strengthen the community health workforce. The Pathfinder team saw KanSLAM as a promising vehicle for improving transparency related to outcomes of care.
So, what does our partnership with KanSLAM look like?
Data-driven advocacy is essential
We recently held a workshop with KanSLAM to enhance their skills in budgetary and policy analysis. To conduct these analyses, we worked with KanSLAM to create a Family Health Budget Performance Scorecard, a data-driven advocacy tool used to evaluate and improve the efficiency, equity, and quality of health spending.
Using the scorecard, KanSLAM members can track budget allocations, delivery of maternal and reproductive health services, and funding for infectious and non-communicable diseases. Data obtained from these tracking efforts is used to influence decision-makers and improve health sector performance in the state. The scorecards can be continuously developed and applied to track performance over time.
KanSLAM is using data from the scorecards to engage with policymakers and push for timely budget releases, better resource allocation, and stronger accountability—ultimately advancing women’s health and progress toward universal health coverage. For example, KanSLAM recently led high-level advocacy visits to the Kano State Commissioner for Health and other key stakeholders, which helped to secure approvals for health budget memos that ensure adequate provision and timely delivery of quality medicines, reinforcing free maternal and child healthcare initiatives in the state.
“Before this training, our advocacy efforts were less data driven. Now, with the skills we have gained in budget analysis and policy tracking, we can engage decision-makers more effectively and push for real change in women’s health. The scorecard has given us a clear picture of where gaps exist and how to advocate for the resources needed to close them.”
—Maimuna Yakubu Mohammed, Co-Chair of KanSLAM
Communities that demand accountability save lives
We continue to mentor KanSLAM. Our end goal for this work is to have communities take action and hold the government accountable.
Especially with social media, locally led advocacy initiatives that galvanize civil society to demand change are the most powerful avenues for transformation. That’s why the KanSLAM coalition is so promising—joining CSOs, the media, and government to mobilize change is the best way to boost the salience of imminent health issues. The coalition has great potential to drive transformative investments that save thousands of women’s lives.
“The data is clear—change is needed, and KanSLAM has to make it happen,” said Maimuna Yakubu Mohammed, KanSLAM’s Co-Chair.
