The Jigawa State Ministry of Health have launched a crackdown on illegal and substandard private health institutions across the state, warning that unaccredited institutions pose a direct threat to public safety. Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting with provosts of health training institutions in Dutse, the Chairman of the North-West Health Commissioners’ Forum and Jigawa State Commissioner of Health, Abdullahi Kainuwa, announced the inauguration of a specialised Taskforce Committee on Private Health Institutions.
Mr Kainuwa said the mandate of the committee is to enforce regulatory compliance and shut down any institution failing to meet established legal standards. “The forum is well aware of the illegal operations and substandard conditions in many private health institutions, and this will no longer be tolerated,” Mr Kainuwa, a medical doctor, stated. Adding that “any school that fails to meet the set standards will be closed down by the committee.
This enforcement exercise would be executed concurrently across all seven North-West states, warning that any proprietor (s) leaving Jigawa to neighbouring states to set up the institutions will not be spared.” The Commissioner expressed alarm over the egregious conditions observed in several unaccredited schools, noting that some operate without permanent structures, qualified full-time faculty, proper laboratories, or basic clinical training equipment.
While acknowledging the vital role of private enterprise in supplementing public educational capacity, Mr Kainuwa stated that academic and professional rigour cannot be compromised when human lives are at stake. “We recognise that the government alone cannot absorb every candidate, and there is a legitimate need for private institutions. However, any institution operating as a health school must truly earn that title,” he remarked.
Mr Kainuwa announced that sanctions would extend beyond the schools to corrupt or negligent regulators.