Page 121 - GHES-3-2

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Sustainability of primary healthcare services

through community participation: Assessing
the role of ward development committees in

northwestern Nigeria

Kabiru Abubakar Gulma*
School of Global Health and Bioethics, Euclid University, Banjul, The Gambia

Abstract
This study assessed 191 ward development committees (WDCs) and 200 primary
healthcare center (PHC) catchment communities in Kebbi State, northwestern Nigeria,
Academic editor: to determine the status and functionality of WDCs and their level of engagement
Mihajlo Jakovljevic M.D. Ph.D. MAE with PHCs. The existence of other community structures relevant to primary health
care was also explored. The study employed a cross-sectional design involving
*Corresponding author:
Kabiru Abubakar Gulma questionnaire survey with members of WDCs, health facility workers, and community
(gulma@euclidfaculty.net) members, in addition to reviewing records and documentation at PHCs and in the
Citation: Gulma, K.A. (2025). communities. The study found a pervasive existence and functioning of WDCs in all
Sustainability of primary healthcare wards in Kebbi State. Almost all WDCs hold regular monthly meetings, with meeting
services through community notes available for the majority. While most of the WDCs had independent means of
participation: Assessing the role of
ward development committees in generating funds, the majority of them did not have functional bank accounts. We
northwestern Nigeria. Global Health found that most WDCs performed key roles and activities, including supervision of
Econ Sustain, 3(2):113-123. health facilities, social mobilization, monitoring performance indicators, and using
https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.4945
data for decision-making. We also found that the majority of the communities had
Received: September 24, 2024 other community-level structures, such as traditional birth attendants, volunteer
1st revised: November 09, 2024 community health workers, and the existence of a community emergency transport
system to transfer pregnant women to PHCs during emergencies. WDCs and other
2nd revised: November 21, 2024
community-based structures can potentially improve primary healthcare services in
3rd revised: December 02, 2024 Kebbi State. However, efforts to optimize their performance are needed, including
4th revised: December 13, 2024 strengthening WDCs’ capacity for financial management and encouraging a more
widespread existence of other community-based health-related initiatives. Primary
Accepted: December 17, 2024
healthcare services in Kebbi State can be improved by optimizing the performance
Published online: January 2, 2025 of WDCs and other community-based structures, leading to better health outcomes
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). for the population.
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Keywords: Ward development committees; Community support; Primary health care;
License, permitting distribution, Kebbi State; Nigeria
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Primary health care is the cornerstone of any healthcare system, providing the initial
affiliations. point of contact between individuals and the broader healthcare infrastructure (Heritage

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 113 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.4945