USAID Partners Kebbi To Boost Health Sector

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is collaborating with the Kebbi State Government to enhance the skills of the state’s health finance personnel with the aim of reducing issues related to external audit queries.

Usman Faleye, who is part of the State2State Lead Team in Kebbi State, made this announcement during a three-day training session for health financial specialists from the Kebbi State Ministry of Health at Soul Care Hotel in Sokoto.

The training, which targeted state accountants, finance directors, cashiers, and other health MDA staff, concentrated on improving their internal control procedures and ensuring financial transactions are handled prudently.

Faleye clarified that State2State, a public financial management initiative, is assisting Kebbi State in enhancing their resource allocation and spending efficiency within the health sector to promote overall health improvements.

Moreover, the training aimed at enhancing the participants’ abilities to reinforce their internal control mechanisms, particularly in terms of retirements, memo processing for approval, and ensuring all necessary documentation is in place for financial processes in the ministry.

Faleye emphasized the growing concerns regarding audit matters in financial operations and highlighted the importance of such training to prevent future issues, particularly within health MDAs.

He stressed, “We also want to be sure that the right monies are released for the right allocation as already captured in the budget.

“As such, it would replace more on prudence and could reduce waste and the prevailing of frauds within the health MDAs.

“The trainees are expected to improve their capacity on the new method of how attaining their payment vouchers, how to fill their cash book and effectively and adequately report financially all their activities within the ministry,” Faleye emphasised.

Faruk Sarki Kigo, Permanent Secretary of Kebbi State’s Ministry of Finance, emphasized that the training aimed to establish robust internal controls across all levels of management, from top executives to cashiers, to identify, prevent, and rectify issues hindering financial transactions.

He expressed confidence that the training would equip participants with the knowledge to tackle financial challenges faced by the health ministry and related state agencies.

Kigo highlighted the importance of understanding the payment voucher process, from approval by the state governor to payment execution, and stressed that the training would familiarize participants with preparing payment vouchers in accordance with financial regulations.

Dr. Jibril Labbo Gwandu, Director of Medical Services in the state Ministry of Health, added that the training aimed to educate health financing experts on internal control mechanisms, accurate record-keeping, and effective audit query management to enhance financial accountability and transaction transparency.

Gwandu insisted, “It is a very important training in the sense that it has gathered all the MDAs in health, so it will be another peer review learning workshop.

“The coming of the State2State in Kebbi State has been a very wonderful job as we must note that we are in the mid-term developmental strategy for the health sector.

“Although, State2State came to Kebbi State a bid late compared to other states, but the coming is very important and it has built many capacities, especially in the financial management of Kebbi State Ministry of Health”

Aliyu Ladan, Kebbi State’s Deputy Accountant General in the Ministry of Finance, emphasized that the training also focuses on enabling financial experts to effectively protect the state’s assets and maintain accurate records.

He highlighted that the program specifically targets Directors of Finance, Accountants, and their cashiers, aiming to enhance their skills in record-keeping and creating self-explanatory payment vouchers that ensure transparency and accountability.