By Asma’u Ahmad
The World Bank has earmarked $40 million grant to boost Primary Health Care (PHC) system in the North East and the implementation of National Health Act.
Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, disclosed this to newsmen at the maiden interactive forum between Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja.
Represented by Director Health Planning, Research and Statistics of the ministry, Dr. Akin Oyemakinde, the minister explained that the grant from the World Bank was under the Global Financing Facility (GFF).
Professor Isaac Adewole
He said that the federal ministry of health has also allocated $20 million to improve PHC system in the North East.
He added that the remaining $20 million would be allocated to quick win to pilot the basic healthcare provision fund of the National Health Act in Osun, Abia and Niger states.
The convener of the programme and Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR), Dr. Aminu Magashi Garba, said the forum have inaugurated #OpenFMoH.
He said the interface between CSOs and Federal Ministry of Health was to unlock the ministry, improve access to information and address gaps between CSOs and the government.
“The forum had inaugurated the #OpenFMoH. It is going to be a quarterly interactive activity, another interface will hold in June. Before the larger forum in June, smaller meetings will be organised by the organisation to facilitate smooth operation between CSOs working to improve health and government.
“In the next interface forum, we have already planned to invite the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), NHIS and NACA, among others, to come and provide impute during the interface,” Dr. Magashi said.
Similarly, CSO’s Representative Nigeria GFF Platform, Dr. Emmanuel Abanida, said the interface would enable CSOs interact with the ministry to ensure better healthcare delivery for Nigerians.
“As CSOs, we need to understand and know what exactly the government is doing; we need to understand how the health system is connecting with the people,” he said.
Dr. Abanida said e-government has been opened to the CSOs to allow them to monitor the processes of the grant.
He noted that his organisation had been part of the programme since 2015 when it started, and the ministry has been very open to all the processes.
