The fourteen Local Government Councils of Zamfara State have pledged to allocate over one billion naira to the Zamfara State Health Contributory Management Agency (ZAMCHEMA). This investment is designated to provide free healthcare services for 89,232 impoverished and vulnerable individuals across the state’s 147 political wards.This commitment was detailed in a statement jointly issued to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gusau on Saturday. The signatories were the State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Ahmad Yandi; the State Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Alhaji Sama’ila Moriki; and the Chief of the UNICEF Sokoto Field Office, Mr. Michael Juma.The statement clarified that this financial commitment is a strategic measure to address a funding shortfall from donors and to advance the goal of Universal Health Coverage within the state. The resolution was reached during a two-day advocacy meeting on domestic fund mobilization for the health contributory programme, which was recently held in Birnin Kebbi.The allocated funds will serve as capitation fees, enabling complimentary basic healthcare for the beneficiaries. All individuals enrolled in the scheme will be selected from the National Social Register, with a specific focus on the most impoverished two percent of those listed.This initiative is designed to improve health outcomes for the state’s most at-risk demographics, including children under five, adolescents, orphans, pregnant women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.The program’s implementation is anticipated to commence shortly after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) receives approval from Governor Dauda Lawal and the State Ministry of Justice. The formal agreement will subsequently be signed by the Commissioner for Local Government, the ALGON Chairman, and ZAMCHEMA.