By Haruna Gimba
The Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire has commended the Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN) for its commitment and support for the country’s health sector.
The minister made the commendation in Abuja on Tuesday at the first quarter meeting of the Nigeria Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent and Elderly Health Plus Nutrition (RMNCAEH+N), Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Coordinating Platform (MSPCP).
The AHBN was founded by Dr Aminu Magashi Garba during the 2014 Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) Forum held at Johannesburg, South Africa.
The organisation seek to promote health budget transparency, accountability and participation in Africa
He said the AHBN and other development partners like; the M-Space, Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been incredibly supportive to the federal government towards the development of the plan.
“I thank the leadership of the different subcommittees and all the members who have taken time to enrich this plan. Our partners have been incredibly supportive in this process and are much appreciated: Africa Health Budget Network, M-Space, Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) and the World Health Organization (WHO),” he said.
Dr Ehanire said the RMNCAEH+N platform launched in October 2020, sought to address coordination issues in the delivery of high impact interventions affecting mothers, children, adolescents, and the elderly.
“The mandate of the platform was itemised in four key points which includes; Leadership, Coordination and Partnership, Advocacy, Resource Mobilization & Communication; Quality Technical Delivery as well as Accountability, Data and Knowledge Management.
“These make up the four subcommittees led by a Core Group comprised of expertise from the traditional institutions and public health experts. The role of the core group is to operationalise the terms of reference,” the minister added.
According to him, the RMNCAEH+N operational plan will guide implementation of the coordination at the national level and serve as a template for adaptation and adoption at the subnational levels.
He said the plan clearly communicates the vision for the platform, enumerates the structure of the partnership and depicts the operational modalities.
Health Reporters report that the one-day meeting sought to among others, sensitize and advocate to media Chief Executive Officers on their roles and responsibilities towards improving health and wellbeing of women, children, adolescents and elderly, in order to a achieve the goal of RMNCAEH+N strategy in Nigeria.
