Bauchi State Governor, Sen. Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, has commended the contributions of New Incentives – All Babies Are Equal (NI-ABAE) for its significant role in improving infant immunization coverage across the state.
The governor gave the commendation when he received a delegation from the organization on a courtesy visit at the Government House, Bauchi, on Wednesday.
Mohammed described the NI-ABAE initiative as one of the most impactful and transformative interventions in the state’s healthcare delivery system, particularly in tackling child mortality and vaccine hesitancy.
He directed the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency to allocate an office space for the organisation and ensure regular submission of progress reports to his office.
While reiterating his administration’s commitment to maternal and child health, the governor proposed the inclusion of maternity kits and other non-cash incentives to further encourage antenatal care attendance and routine immunization.
“We are fully committed to partnerships that improve healthcare outcomes for our people. The work of New Incentives in this regard is commendable and deserves our full support,” he said.
Earlier, the Director of Stakeholder Relations at NI-ABAE, Mr. Nura Muhammad, disclosed that since the launch of the programme in Bauchi State in 2022, over 734,000 caregivers had received conditional cash transfers exceeding ₦4 billion to promote full infant immunization.
He stated that the initiative is currently being implemented across 11 Northern states and has created over 325 jobs for Bauchi indigenes alone.
According to him, the programme has also contributed to a 32 percentage point reduction in the state’s zero-dose children rate — referring to children who have not received any routine vaccination.
Muhammad attributed the success to strong government support and community engagement, while urging the governor to back efforts to scale up awareness campaigns, including radio advocacy and involvement of traditional institutions, to address lingering vaccine skepticism in hard-to-reach areas.
