The Fintiri Legacy Series: Building Beyond Today Part 3
Yola, Adamawa - September 19, 2025
Following the previous episode on Education, the Adamawa State Government has delivered on its scholarship pledge. Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri approved ₦4.5 billion for the postgraduate studies of 110 students in Turkey, with another batch set for Australia in January 2026. Additionally, ₦395 million was released for the procurement of science textbooks across all 21 LGAs to strengthen students’ reading and study culture.
Just like education, the Fintiri administration has turned the same focused, results-oriented approach to the state health sector. What began as a programme of repairs and short-term fixes has grown into a systematic effort to rebuild health infrastructure, expand primary care, and make essential health services affordable and locally available — especially for the poor, the aged, civil servants and rural communities.
Health – Expanding Access and Quality Healthcare
Health, of all sectors, is where governance meets human lives most intimately. Under Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri’s leadership, Adamawa State has entered a transformational era—one that seeks not just to patch up what was broken, but to build a system that is resilient, accessible, and inclusive. Since Governor Fintiri took office, Adamawa’s health strategy has been deliberate and visibly comprehensive: upgrading primary and secondary facilities, constructing, upgrading and commissioning cottage hospitals, expanding and equipping primary health centres, recruiting medical personnels, and introducing subsidized state health protection schemes for civil servants, retirees and vulnerable groups. These measures are designed to shorten travel times for emergency care, offer routine maternal and child services close to communities, access to sexual reproductive health services, improved healthcare outcomes and protect households from catastrophic health challenges and costs.
For Sustainability in the health sector, government has improved the state health budget over time as these improvements depend on funding, which should not always be dependant on external partnership and funding. Governor Fintiri ensured that state budget allocations and internal resources are adequately provided to maintain facilities, pay staff, procure supplies and maintain healthy population. Government partnerships with global and national organisations combined with bold policy decisions have yielded deep, and measurable changes in the state.
Expansion of Health Infrastructure
The administration has commissioned multiple 60-bed cottage hospitals in LGAs like Demsa, Lamurde, Shelleng, Gombi, and Girei. Overseen renovation works across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state, while also investing in advanced diagnostic and specialty services — including CT and laboratory upgrades and a dialysis centres. The strategy deliberately mixes small-scale local hospitals (to serve rural catchments) with specialist improvements at referral centres to keep complicated care closer to home. Major overhauls have taken place in the Specialist Hospital Yola, and general hospitals across the state have received improved OPDs (Out-Patient Departments), maternity units, female surgical wards, theatre complexes, administrative blocks, laboratories, and other essential infrastructures.
For the Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs): Every ward - all 226 wards in Adamawa have been targeted for PHC coverage. Wards that lacked basic primary health infrastructure have had new centers built or made closer to them. Existing clinics have been rehabilitated.
Service Delivery: Access, Free and Inclusive Care
The administration of Governor Fintiri introduced free medical services for children, pregnant women, the elderly in state-owned facilities, especially for Basic Health services. The sector has also introduced the Health Insurance Scheme; a contributory scheme set up for civil servants and other vulnerable groups to reduce out-of-pocket health spending. The cornerstone of this reform is the subsidization of secondary health plans that explicitly cover vulnerable cohorts – including persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons and indigent families.
The state’s health financing architecture now includes equity-funded and retiree plans designed to expand the utilization of formal health services. This policy shift prioritizes preventive and maternal health services and creates predictable revenue for primary care delivery in the state.
Strategic Partnerships and Donor-Supported Programs
With government commitment to healthcare, the EU-UNICEF SARAH Project selected Adamawa along Kwara and Sokoto as one of three states to implement the Strengthening Access to Reproductive and Adolescent Health (SARAH), with a substantial US$45 million investment. The project is aimed at tackling maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition challenges in the state.
The state government has also partnered International NGOs & Water/ Sanitation Partners to ensure PHC facilities are fully functional, sustained, and hygienic, the government has worked with UNICEF, IRC (International Rescue Committee), ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), Plan International/BMZ and others. This partnership supports with infrastructure like clean water supply, preventive maintenance, and community engagement.
Fintiri’s team has actively pursued donor support and technical partnerships. Securing international project funding and joined multi-state health initiatives — bringing in technical assistance, commodities and implementation finance that strengthen immunization, maternal health and primary care delivery. These partnerships complement state funds and accelerate healthcare delivery in the state.
One of these milestones, was the Global Partnership entered by the state government with about 40 International Health Organizations, among which is the World Medical Relief INC. For this to be achieved, the governor travelled to Detroit in the United States of America to meet with partners. His visit in 2021 triggered a quick response by the organizations to kick-start the process of intervention, which include supplies of health consumables and equipment, dividends that have so far been delivered. The governor on his return from that journey to Yola on the 4th of July, 2021 briefed press men in these words:
“We are changing the narrative in the Health Sector, we are building hospitals, we are reconstructing more, we felt that we need to look for global partners and that was how we found ourselves in America and we were able to talk to a lot of partners who are ready to assist and give us this support, and I think it is very positive. …very soon, we will start receiving some of the containers of medical consumables, and equipment. We have talked to about 40 global partners who are ready to give us this help because of the political will that I have demonstrated and by going there myself.”
Supporting Systems: Staffing, Utilities & Specialized Services
Recruitment of Health Workers: Over the years, over one thousand of healthcare personnel have been recruited with another two thousand proposed to be employed to fill the gaps in the healthcare manpower, including medical doctors, nurses, technical/primary health workers, to staff new and refurbished facilities.
Power Solutions for Health Facilities: in the state, health facilities are now equipped with solar-hybrid power systems to reduce interruptions, particularly in rural or off-grid areas such as Malabu, Girei, Ajiya, Malamre etc.
Public Health Innovations
The Adamawa's Primary Health Care Development Agency was awarded for excellence in water supply at PHC facilities at the 2024 International Conference on Water, with recognition for quality beyond mere access. This recognition is a testament of Governor Fintiri’s resolve to construct Solar boreholes in PHCs across the state to give the facilities access to portable water supply and good sanitation facilities.
Preventive Programs & Maternal, Newborn, Child Health (MNCH): Through donor-funded projects and state implementation, the government has renewed focus on reducing maternal and child mortality, increase immunization drive, adolescent health, and nutrition. Through adequate monitoring, sensitization by state actors and NGOs, government has increased the number of persons that access primary healthcare in community clinics - Programs like SARAH and BMZ SRHR are central to that.
Impact on the People
The interventions of government in the health sector, has reduced mortality and morbidity rate in Adamawa state: Although hard data for all indicators are not yet public, increased access to maternity and surgical services, free care for children and pregnant women, and improved health facilities indicate drops in childbirth complications, neonatal deaths, and illnesses that previously went untreated.
Financial Relief: For many families, health shocks often result in catastrophic spending. Free and/or heavily subsidise services, insurance schemes, and locally accessible hospitals reduce travel, treatment and lodging costs, making health services available, accessible and affordable in the state.
Equity and Access: Through the massive investment by Governor Fintiri’s administration in healthcare, geographic and socio-economic barriers have been narrowed. Rural wards now have PHCs; local government areas have cottage hospitals. Vulnerable groups - children, elderly, pregnant women are getting prioritized care in their local communities.
Improved Community Confidence in Public Health: As people see functioning clinics, better staffing, less waiting time, cleaner facilities, consistent water and power, WASH facility, the trust in government health services appears to be rising. This leads to better uptake of preventive care, immunizations, antenatal visits to primary health facilities in the state.
What communities are paying
As a result of Governor Fintiri’s giant stride in the health sector, residents in rural communities, report shorter journeys to health centers and more reliable services deliveries, immunizations and childhood illnesses. Civil servants and pensioners who join the state-backed plans report easier access to diagnostics and routine care without the immediate cash burden. Primary Healthcare staff have access to better equipment and new hiring drives as essential to retaining staff and raising service quality.
Adamawa State under Governor Fintiri has transformed its health sector from one marked by neglect, inadequate infrastructure, and limited access, to a system increasingly defined by reach, inclusion, quality and partnership. Through putting up bold infrastructural investments by with global health initiatives, free care policies, and targeted donor support, Fintiri’s government is shaping a legacy that doesn’t just treat, but empowers communities to a lifestyle of health and hygiene.
By Mazi Uchenna Nwafor
+234(0) 8036261140
Hicia News
Comments
Post a Comment