Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran, has said the state lacks a specialist in speech rehabilitation, leaving patients needing the service dependent on professionals from other locations.
Speaking at the 66th Annual Scientific Conference and 67th Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy in Kano, Labaran said the government planned to sponsor specialised training to address the gap. He described the missing role as a “speech physiotherapist” and said residents sometimes had to travel to Ibadan or arrange for a specialist to visit Kano. BuyMaps
“We realised that we don’t have a single speech physiotherapist in Kano and perhaps in the entire North. We either have to bring a specialist from Ibadan or travel there,” he said. “We have therefore decided to sponsor physiotherapists to specialise in this area so that the services will be available in Kano.”
Labaran said the state government had expanded physiotherapy units in four hospitals in recognition of the profession’s contribution to healthcare. He added that plans were under way to establish a centre of excellence in physiotherapy at Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano.
The conference examined advocacy and policy engagement for integrating physiotherapy into Nigeria’s public health system. Discussions also covered rehabilitation across different stages of life, including disabilities associated with non-communicable diseases, injuries and infectious diseases.
Professor Rufai Ahmed, Registrar of the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board of Nigeria, emphasised the need to train professionals in specialist areas where services were unavailable. Ahmed, who represented Minister of State for Health Dr Isaac Salako, said the board would send a team to help state-owned hospitals obtain the necessary accreditation for physiotherapy services.
He reaffirmed the ministry’s support for the profession and called for stronger training institutions to improve service delivery despite existing challenges. President of the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy, Dr Felix Oyinlola Odusanya, said the conference reflected a renewed commitment to developing the profession and broadening its contribution to healthcare. BuyMaps
He said the association was awaiting approval of a national rehabilitation policy and the release of the Doctor of Physiotherapy scheme of service for the health sector. According to Odusanya, Nigeria has 60 physiotherapy training institutions. He also said the National Universities Commission had recently approved a five-year Doctor of Physiotherapy degree programme.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, represented by Secretary to the State Government Umar Faruk, described the gathering as an opportunity to discuss ways of reducing disability and pain. He said physiotherapy should be treated as an integral part of comprehensive healthcare, particularly for injured patients, older people and persons with disabilities.
Senator Bello Hayatu Gwarzo, who attended in a wheelchair, shared his experience of rehabilitation following surgery in Germany. He said the treatment had helped him regain the ability to stand and move without support.
Guest speaker Dr Felix Abraham Obi raised concerns about the limited representation of physiotherapists in healthcare leadership. He argued that although Nigeria trains practitioners, the system does not adequately place them in positions where they can contribute to policy and decision-making. BuyMaps
Obi said there was no physiotherapist serving as a director in the Federal Ministry of Health or at state level.