Last week, Baroness Jenny Chapman, UK Minister of State for International Development and Africa, visited Kaduna State to assess how UK investment is supporting Nigeria, including the country’s health system through the Lafiya Programme.

The visit, which included Unguwan Sunusi Primary Health Care Centre and the Kaduna State Health Supplies Management Agency (KADHSMA), brought together state officials, health workers and partners to examine how improvements in service delivery and supply systems are working together in practice. “It was a real honour for the team to welcome the Minister to Kaduna and to showcase the work of the UK’s health flagship Lafiya Programme,” notes Dr Jabulani Nyenwa, Palladium Senior Director.

“This visit brings into focus the progress that has been made in strengthening systems and supporting the Nigerian government’s reforms to deliver more reliable care for its people.”

The Lafiya Programme, funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and implemented by Palladium, supports Kaduna State to strengthen primary health care delivery, supply chains and maternal, newborn and child health services.

Baroness Chapman’s visit brought these elements together into a single line of sight — from policymaking and financing decisions to the systems that move commodities, and ultimately to the point of care.

At Unguwan Sunusi Primary Health Care Centre, Chapman toured the pharmacy, labour ward and outpatient areas, where services including maternal and child health, immunisation, family planning and laboratory care are delivered in a single location – an example of integrated primary healthcare.

In the pharmacy, staff demonstrated how medicines are procured and managed through a drug revolving fund introduced with earlier UK support. Facility staff reported that the system has sustained availability of essential medicines and prevented stock-outs at the facility — a change that has made services more predictable for both staff and patients.

Baroness Chapman also met patients and community representatives, who described satisfaction in accessing multiple services in one visit rather than travelling between facilities. Several highlighted Kaduna State’s policy of free maternal and newborn health services and the distribution of MAMA birth kits for pregnant and lactating women.

Much of this work reflects how the co-location of services—such as antenatal care, immunisation and outpatient treatment—has made it easier for patients to receive care at a single point of access, while enabling health workers to deliver integrated health care more efficiently.

At KADHSMA, attention shifted to the systems supplying those services. The agency’s 1,600 square metre warehouse now distributes commodities to 1,062 primary health facilities, alongside secondary and tertiary institutions across Kaduna State.

Officials described how strengthened warehousing processes, stock tracking, and distribution planning have improved accountability and reduced shortages across facilities, ensuring that medicines seen at facilities like Unguwan Sunusi are consistently available.

The visit also highlighted innovation in last-mile delivery. Through a partnership with Zipline, commodities can be dispatched rapidly using drones to hard-to-reach facilities, helping facilities maintain supplies even when road access is constrained.

“What we see in Kaduna is a system where planning, supply chains and service delivery are increasingly aligned,” reflects Nyenwa. “Facilities are better able to deliver consistent care because the systems behind them—from procurement to last mile distribution—are becoming more reliable.”

What emerges is not a single intervention, but a set of interdependent systems. Medicines remain in stock because procurement, warehousing and distribution are functioning. Services are more accessible because they are organised in one place. Facilities are better maintained because financing is predictable.

Across Kaduna, these connections are now visible in practice. And while gaps remain — from equipment in warehouses to the ongoing demands of scale — the visit offered a clear indication of how sustained, systems-focused investment is translating into more reliable care. The challenge for the Nigerian government, is to scale up and sustain the Unguwan Sunusi Primary Health Care Centre model, while prioritising its own financing of health care towards Universal Health Coverage.