Olorunnimbe Mamora, Minister of State for Health, has reiterated the significance of public-private partnership (PPP) in building Nigeria’s health sector, noting that the challenges in the sector are enormous and require all hands to be on deck to help salvage the current situation.
The minister spoke at a two-day meeting with stakeholders in Lagos. The event, known as the 95th Regular Review Meeting, was organized by PharmAccess Foundation, and the committee of Chief Medical Directors (CMDs)/ Medical Directors (MDs) of Federal Tertiary Hospitals.
Its objective was mainly to brainstorm on the challenges confronting the health sector and how the services provided by public tertiary institutions can be improved.
Mamora, who stated that the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) recognizes the immense contributions of the committee in the development and improvement of the sector, said he is aware that the challenges in the health sector are multidimensional, but advocacy with stakeholders is necessary to address them.
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He argued that most of these challenges are not directly within the purview of the ministry but may require a multi-sectoral approach in resolving them. The challenges within the health sector are enormous, he said, adding that stakeholders must unite in finding solutions to chart the way forward so as to ensure a steady development of the system.
According to him, stakeholders need to build a healthy nation within the limited resources available, as the health sector is important to the overall development of the country.
“May I, therefore, seize this opportunity to reiterate that the Federal Ministry of Health is open to suggestions, collaborations/partnerships with stakeholders as well as development partners towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for the Nigerian people.
“We appreciate the importance of a multi-sectoral approach in achieving these goals that your committee is greatly exploring.”
The minister further commended PharmAccess Foundation and the committee of CMDs for taking out time to examine and find solutions to the health challenges.
Earlier speaking, Njide Ndili, the country director of PharmAccess Nigeria, commended the CMDs for the great turnout for the meeting, which she said was an indication of their commitment to dialogue and finding solutions to improve the quality of healthcare delivery.
As the quest to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) continues, Ndili said it is critical to recognize that without quality service delivery and better health outcomes, people will be reluctant to prepay for healthcare; making it difficult to achieve UHC as a nation by 2030.
“We must build trust in the healthcare delivery system so patients can have confidence that they will receive good quality care after purchasing health insurance packages,” she charged the audience.
The meeting featured a presentation by PharmAccess on ‘Quality Improvement in Tertiary Hospitals,’ led by Anire Asumah, senior program manager, SafeCare PharmAccess Foundation.
The presentation showcased practical steps towards quality improvement and transformational leadership. It showed how tertiary institutions can measure and benchmark their facilities against a defined standard of service and health outcome.
The presentation also outlined SafeCare quality improvement work at FMC Ebute Metta Lagos state. Peter Bankole, the director of the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), Pan African University, presented the detailed curriculum of the Healthcare Management Program which is a transformational leadership program for healthcare managers.
This publication learned that the curriculum was developed by PharmAccess Foundation in collaboration with EDC to help healthcare leaders manage their organizations profitably.
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