During a press briefing in Abuja, Pate emphasized that this report will deliver an in-depth evaluation of the current state of Nigeria's healthcare system and propose future directions for improvement.
He mentioned that the upcoming Nigeria Health Sector-Wide Joint Annual Review scheduled for November will lay the groundwork for this report.
“The Joint Annual Review is a significant conference where we will collectively assess our progress, highlighting the extensive journey ahead in transforming Nigeria’s healthcare system. We have engaged extensively with state governments, health commissioners, and development partners through various working groups, analyzing data and utilizing tools such as the People’s Perceptions Survey.
The minister also indicated that the report aims to tackle issues related to maternal and child healthcare, as well as reproductive health, among other critical areas.
“There are particular local governments, about 172 of them, which account for more than half of maternal mortality. So, how do we target them now that we have identified them? We will review it collectively, using the best interventions that we can deploy. We need to look at where to go from here in terms of our operational plan that has been developed by the states.
“Our teams are working very hard. Our development partners, our partners at the state government, local governments, of course, the citizen voices are included. There will be the first state of health report, which will be the first time there will be a state of health report.
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| The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, and other stakeholders at the briefing. SOURCE: FMoH&SW |
On an annual basis, there will now be a report back to Nigerians because all of this is to serve Nigerians, and we will report back to His Excellency, Mr President, members of the National Assembly, and report to the National Council on Health, which is the epic health policy-making body in our history of federalism, and then to make this public,” he added.
Pate revealed that President Bola Tinubu has authorized the disbursement of N10 billion for the Medical Relief Program. This initiative aims to provide essential medications to individuals in need, particularly those impacted by recent flooding.
“The sum of N5bn was released to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency respectively,” he said.
The National Coordinator of the Sector-Wide approach, Dr. Muntaqa Sadiq, emphasized that this year's JAR will serve as a foundational benchmark for establishing future objectives and priorities. This ensures that governmental resources are allocated efficiently to achieve optimal impact.
According to Dr. Sadiq, these engagements are designed to bolster collaboration between state and federal entities, thereby ensuring adherence to the compact signed by the Nigeria Health Sector Investment Renewal Initiative of the Government.