Members of the National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly (Health and Appropriation Committees) from Bauchi, Borno, Kano, Sokoto States, and other stakeholders have reiterated their commitment to closing immunisation gaps in the country.
Chairman House Committee on Health Care Services (National Assembly), Hon. Amos Magaji disclosed this in a communique signed on Saturday.
According to Magaji, the stakeholders reached the decision at a two-day Legislative Retreat convened in Lagos State from 18–19 July, 2025.
The retreat brought together key stakeholders including members of the National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly (Health and Appropriation Committees) from Bauchi, Borno, Kano, and Sokoto States, and Chief Executive Officers of the respective State Primary Healthcare Development Agencies/Boards.
Anchored on the theme “Legislative Partnerships for Reaching Zero-Dose Children in Nigeria,” the retreat was organized under the auspices of the Zero Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH) initiative, with the goal of strengthening legislative commitment, fostering intergovernmental collaboration, and driving sustainable, evidence-informed solutions to close immunization gaps.
Participants engaged in constructive discussions and shared practical insights and field experiences that culminated in a set of consensus-based recommendations and legislative commitments aimed at accelerating impact in the four ZDLH supported states.
Some of the objective of the retreat was, “to facilitate high-level dialogue with national and state legislators, as well as Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of State Primary Healthcare Development Agencies/Boards (SPHDAs/SPHCDBs), on emerging priorities, challenges, and strategic opportunities for reaching zero-dose and under-immunized children”.
It is also, “to support state legislators in co-developing actionable policy and funding resolutions that directly contribute to addressing immunization gaps in zero-dose LGAs and missed communities”.
At the end of the two-day retreat, it was agreed that the Chairman House Committee on Health, National Assembly, Hon. Amos Gwamna Magaji would convene a meeting with all Chairmen House Committees on Health from the States Assembly and key stakeholders from all 36 states in Abuja by Q3/Q4 2025, with the Nigerian ZDLH consortium participating in the meeting.
The Chairman House Committee on Health of the National Assembly would also advocate for the creation of the Budget line for immunization in 2026 budget across the states.
Furthermore, the Chairman House of Committee on Health would organize a visit to all the four ZDLH project states starting from Borno in July to conduct oversight functions on BHCPF, Health MoU counterpart funding etc
In addition, the Chairmen House Committees on Health from all ZDLH project states would convene a meeting and provide feedback from ZDLH survey findings with LGAs Chairmen, and their corresponding Members of the State Houses of Assembly.
