Kano to deploy health fellows to strengthen disease surveillance and outbreak response
Mahmud Tajo Sani Gaya, Executive Chairman of Gaya Local Government and ALGON representative on healthcare in Kano State, has said that health fellows being recruited under a federal government initiative will enhance disease surveillance and improve outbreak response across the state.
Speaking on Friday at the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) during the final stage of interviews for the Federal Health Fellowship Programme, Dr. Gaya explained that the initiative is designed to ensure healthcare delivery at the local government level meets national and global standards, particularly for early detection and response to disease outbreaks.
“Health fellows will play a key role in disease surveillance at the grassroots. They will be among the first responders when outbreaks occur in our communities,” he said.
Over 100,000 health professionals and allied cadres applied for the fellowship nationwide. Kano State received 132 shortlisted candidates—three from each of its 44 local government areas—who were interviewed over a five-day period. One fellow will be selected per local government, meaning Kano will have 44 health fellows supporting healthcare delivery, surveillance, and emergency response at the local level.
Dr. Gaya said the selection process was guided by transparency and fairness, with a panel that included medical doctors from various specializations, representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), state ministries of health, academia, the emirate council, ALGON, the Primary Health Care Management Board, and the Ministry of Health.
He added that after final selection, the fellows will undergo training in Abuja before returning for step-down, on-the-job, and continuous capacity-building sessions to ensure they are fully prepared.
“The presence of trained health fellows at the grassroots will help close existing gaps in primary healthcare, particularly in hard-to-reach communities,” Gaya noted.
