By: Mukhtar Yahaya Shehu
The Kano state government has reiterated its commitments to promote nutrition, food security, and sustainable health interventions in the state.
The state commissioner for health Dr Abubakar Labaran Yusuf stated this at the workshop organized by the Kano State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Drugs, Medical and Consumables Supply Agency (DMCSA) and development partners including PVAC, FCDO, UNICEF, WHO, and the Global Fund (GF).
The workshop brought together key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, as well as technical experts in nutrition and public health.
Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf commended the partners for their continued support to the state, noting that the Tom Brown initiative is a critical step toward reducing malnutrition, especially among women and children. He stressed that Kano is determined to build a sustainable model that will boost local production, create jobs, and improve community well-being.
In a statement signed by public relations officer state ministry for health Nabilisi Abubakar Kofar Na’isa said the key objectives of the workshop were to present the draft Tom Brown Business Case to stakeholders for review and validation; collect technical, operational, and policy inputs from state and partner actors to finalize the business case; validate roles, responsibilities, and next steps for implementation; and build consensus on the investment structure, production models, and sustainability roadmap for the initiative.
At the end of the technical sessions, participants incorporated stakeholder feedback to refine the financial and technical aspects of the Tom Brown Business Case. The discussions also strengthened state-level commitment and ownership to ensure implementation readiness, including potential Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements, co-financing models, and facility site selection.
According to the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the workshop underscored the importance of collaboration between government and development partners to ensure the sustainability of the Tom Brown project. The participants agreed on the need to institutionalize monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to track progress and ensure quality assurance in production.
The Kano State Government, through the Ministry of Health, reaffirmed its resolve to implement the recommendations arising from the workshop, expressing confidence that the Tom Brown initiative will significantly contribute to improved nutrition outcomes, economic empowerment, and overall health development in the state.
