No fewer than 86 stakeholders in the Kano State Health sector benefitted from the online capacity building aimed at improving the Kano State Contributory Healthcare Scheme, through an effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system.

The online training session, which was organised by the Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KSCHMA), with PERL support from June 1 to June 4, 2020 was attended by all staff of KSCHMA, a committee of relevant stakeholders from other healthcare agencies, and citizens groups in Kano State. Eight participants from Borno State health agencies and PERL staff also participated in the capacity building sessions.

The training was meant to improve trainees’ knowledge on:

• the stages of an M&E system and basic concepts of M&E;
• developing a framework that links activities to outcomes and impact (goals);
• developing and reviewing indicators to effectively identify progress towards outcomes; and
• developing data collection tools and data compilation.

One of the key take-aways from the training session was a commitment by KSCHMA on operationalizing its Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework. PERL has supported KSCHMA to develop a robust M&E plan in 2019. The process of operationalizing an M&E Framework will require proper understanding of the basis of strategic planning, different forms of results and how to manage them. The relevant stakeholders will need to understand the demand for quality data, information use, and the appropriate methods of analyzing, presenting, and disseminating information to wider stakeholders.

The 4-day session was split into two with the morning session for all attendees demonstrating specific examples drawn from KSCHMA and the afternoon session for KSCHMA staff only. The afternoon session was targeted at training the Agency’s staff on the preliminary processes that are indispensable for the implementation of the KSCHMA M&E strategy and for participants to acquire in-depth understanding of the first steps for setting up an M&E system.

The Reform Manager of PERL, Auwalu Hamza implored participants to take away key learning from the session that will be beneficial to the M&E community within the health system to see how much the M&E processes within the health system can be strengthened, specifically in KSCHMA. He noted that PERL is open to participants to reach out for further clarifications.

Dr Halima Muhammad Mijinyawa, the Executive Secretary of KSCHMA appreciated PERL for the support on bringing the M&E system of the agency to fruition. She especially thanked PERL’s consultant Zakari M. Zakariyya for his dedication and commitment throughout the period of the training session. She congratulated all participants from KSCHMA, other Health MDAs, attendees from other states and implored them to put into use what they learned to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

KSCHMA is responsible for managing the Kano State Contributory Healthcare Scheme (KSCHS) and was established by the Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency Law No. 3 of 2016. KSCHS is a system of advanced financing of health expenditure through contributions, donations and taxes paid into a common pool to pay for all or part of the health services specified by the policy.

The Agency’s vision of achieving Universal Health Coverage for all residents of the State involves providing a credible and sustainable mechanism for pooling resources to finance healthcare provision. This is to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenditure, mitigate reliance on public sector financing, through various prepayment programs to engender sustainability and efficiency in healthcare delivery. The agency has the highest number of enrollees in Nigeria; 355,684 as at May 2019 with 53.5% being males and 46.5% females. Deductions from workers’ salaries in the formal sector commenced in May 2018 while access to care commenced in June 2018, respectively. The scheme covers an array of programmes targeting different classes of people across both the formal and informal sectors economy.