The RMNCAH Technical Working Group meeting was held on the 26th August 2020 at the State Ministry of Health conference hall. Kano State has the lowest proportion of health public facilities with the 5 basic equipment and only 10% of the healthcare providers in the State can correctly manage maternal and neonatal complications.

During the meeting, an update on the status of Free MCH Drugs in the State was shared. The intervention was established in 2001 by the State Government. The programme has been supported by KHETFUND and development partners like MNCH2 and CHAI. MNCH2 project, the major donor has ended and the ministry is still working on how to bridge the gap and sustain the intervention.

The RMNCAH scorecard for the second quarter of 2020 showing the performance indicators for RMNCAH components in the State and at LGA levels was presented. Findings showed that use of Zinc/ORS for treatment of childhood diarrhoea stands at 96% and 1.3% of children with cough and fever have pneumonia. 

Findings of the baseline assessment conducted in 49 health facilities include;

• Compared to other states in the region, Kano State has the lowest proportion (1.5%) of public health facilities with 5 basic equipment. Also, only 10.1% of healthcare providers in the health facilities surveyed can correctly manage maternal and neonatal complications.
• Knowledge of assessment and treatment of pneumonia and diarrhoea is low, compared with that of malaria. Less than 2 in 10 children with pneumonia and diarrhoea could be managed successful by health workers in the state

As a result of these findings, Kano State decided to develop a Quality of care strategy to mitigate these indices. The strategy will build on the scope of the 2017 National Strategy for RMNCAH+N Quality of Care in Nigeria, with a view to harmonize all QoC interventions into a comprehensive strategy for a unified approach to quality of care in the State for maximal impact. The State adapted the QoC framework of the 2015 Nigeria’s National Healthcare Quality Strategy.

The Baseline assessment conducted covered six areas of service delivery: facility characteristics, facility infrastructure, health management information systems, in-patient services, labor, delivery and surgery and out-patient services.

At the end of the meeting, next steps were presented for the implementation of the QOC strategy in the State which are: complete the analysis and identify quality gaps, convene stakeholders meeting to validate gaps, identify priorities for implementation, develop costed implementation work plan, establish and train governance structure on quality of care concept and practice, engage key principal officers of the SOMH and agencies on RMNCHAH+N and QoC strategy to fill in identified gaps, engage and orient beneficiary communities on quality of care concept, and establish system for continuous review process.