The World Bank has called on the federal government to use result-based financing to improve primary health care services in the country.
Onoriode Ezire, senior health specialist, World Bank, made the call during the Nigeria State Health Investment Project, NSHIP, closure workshop held in Abuja.
Ezire, who was in charge of evaluating the project partly funded by the World Bank noted that the project had a significant impact and result-oriented, thus he said “the health care sector will have a more positive impact when money is directed into a result-based project like the NSHIP.
NSHIP is a Performance-Based approach design to improve primary health care services in Adamawa, Nasarawa, Ondo, Bauchi, Borno, and Yobe. The project aims to strengthen the health system by focusing on results rather than inputs.
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According to the federal ministry of health, the overall objective of NSHIP is to increase the delivery and use of high impact maternal and child health interventions and to improve the quality of care at health facilities in the 8 project states, and additional 113 LGAs that implemented it in achieving its objective, NSHIP seeks to provide managerial autonomy to health facilities whilst straightening accountability mechanism at LGA primary healthcare and state primary health care development agencies through a collective package of institutional and operational level results-based financing approaches.
Faisal Shuaib, executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, in his address, said the project which was introduced in 2011, has brought about the paradigm shift from the traditional input-based financing, fragmented and unclear accountability,
Other achievements he listed are: “top-bottom investment approach, no verification, and centralized medicine supply to the result-based financing with well-defined and monitored performance indicators, accountability, bottom-up investment decisions, rigorous verification and decentralized medicine and health commodities supply within the PHC landscape. The result has been however unprecedented especially as relate to the achievement of the Agency’s mandates.”
He further explained that NSHIP which was implemented by over 2,000 health facilities across 113 LGAs in the eight (8) States has ensured that about 30 million Nigerians, including women and children, have access to quality basic health services and secondary services for a continuum of care.
He said “Indeed, the success of NSHIP implementation has brought about significant policy strengthening and changes in Nigeria especially as regards the PHC system strengthening. This includes improvement in infrastructure, human resources for health, and as well as accountability. The report of the Impact Evaluation of NSHIP, especially on the coverage and quality of health care service provisions informed the Federal Government’s decision to adopt “decentralization”, a key principle in RBF, for the implementation of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) nationwide.
“The NSHIP was also implemented in the selected health facilities across the IDP Camps in Borno State which housed over 2 million internally displaced persons, IDPs,” he informed
Meanwhile, Ayook Olusola, senior medical officer of the federal ministry of health has urged for a policy document that would ensure the sustainability of the project in the country.
He said the sustainability of the project will help the country achieve standard primary health care centers and significantly affect the country’s health sector.
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