Kano Shuts Down 35 Health Facilities, Sanctions 100 Others

The Kano State Private Health Institutions Management Agency has sanctioned over 100 private health facilities and closed down 35 of them in the past year due to different regulatory issues.

Hajiya Khadijah Sa’id, the Acting Director-General of PHIMA, shared this information in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Kano on Tuesday.

Sa’id, who also heads the agency’s Administration and General Services, said these actions aim to enforce health standards and protect residents from unsafe medical practices.

She pointed out that some major violations found during routine checks included operating without a licence, not renewing annual registrations, and hiring unqualified staff.

"We sanctioned over 100 facilities for one mistake or the other. But those that committed gross violations that we cannot overlook, we shut down over 35," she said.

The acting director-general explained that some facilities were temporarily closed to give their owners time to fix the issues before they could reopen.

But she warned that facilities with serious breaches could be permanently removed from the register, and their owners would not be allowed to open another facility using their professional licences.

"Once a facility is delisted, it will not be registered again. The person holding the professional licence will also not be allowed to register another facility," she said.

Sa’id mentioned that PHIMA's regulatory role includes private hospitals, clinics, nursing and maternity homes, diagnostic labs, dental centres, beauty salons, spas, fitness centres, and practitioners of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine.

She added that the agency works with other government bodies and security agencies to find and shut down illegal health facilities in the state.

According to her, a task force set up by Gov. Abba Yusuf recently discovered a clinic that PHIMA had closed and removed from its register, which had reopened at a different location.

She said the agency is strengthening routine inspections to ensure that all health facilities in Kano State’s 44 local government areas follow licensing rules and professional standards.

Sa’id noted that more funding and operational vehicles would help PHIMA to expand their inspection reach and improve enforcement across the state.

She urged owners of private health facilities to get the necessary licences, renew their registrations on time, and ensure that only qualified staff provide medical services.