By Muhammad Amaan
The Federal Government of Nigeria has begun onboarding State Oversight Committees (SOCs) from the North-West geopolitical zone into the revised Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) Guideline 2.0.
Secretary of the Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) on BHCPF, Dr Oreshoremi Ogbe, disclosed this on Tuesday in Zaria, Kaduna State.
The committee secretary said the new guidelines was approved by the Minister of Health to improve implementation outcomes in the region.
Dr Ogbe said that the committee is being chaired by the Commissioners for Health in the 36 States, with membership drawn from key health-care agencies and relevant partners, including State Ministries of Finance.
According to him, they are responsible for managing health sector priorities.
He said the onboarding exercise would deepen their understanding of the expanded roles defined in the new guideline, which places accountability and transparency at the centre of the fund’s management.
“We are here to listen to the SOCs, understand the challenges they face and jointly proffer solutions so that the reforms can deliver the intended benefits,” he said.
He said the Federal Government was addressing concerns raised by the region, including weak collaboration among key actors; low awareness at the local government level; and inadequate accountability structures.
In his speech, the National Coordinator of Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) Coordination Office, Dr Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, said BHCPF 2.0 represented a renewed commitment by the Federal Government to ensure improved governance of health financing.
Represented by Dr Halil Jabiri, Umar-Sadiq said the 2023 BHCPF Audit Report showed persistent accountability issues, stressing the need for stricter oversight to ensure funds reach citizens who need them most.
“The findings are a wake-up call. Every kobo must be accounted for and reach its intended destination,” he said,
He, therefore, pledged a continued technical support to the MOC towards achieving its mandate.
The Executive Secretary of Jigawa Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA), Dr Shehu Sambo, said BHCPF was a game changer in the health sector; it provides the needed impetus states lacked.
He noted that the initial BHCPF 1.0 was very successful, hence the migration to 2.0.
Dr Sambo He added that the migration would bring a lot of funding to the sector at sub-national level and restated the commitments and support of the SPHCDAs to the initiative.
“We will follow due process to ensuring that monies earmarked for the implementation of BHCPF reached the last mile and has benefitted the most vulnerable layer of the society,” he said.
Acting Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) Katsina State Chapter, Malam Rabo Tambaya, said the association in North-West Zone would do the needful to improve collaborations between SOCs and ALGON.
He added that the association would give its maximum support to further improve support in the area of awareness in the various LGAs across the region.
