The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), Mr. Abdulaziz Mashi Abdullahi, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment towards strengthening the Health System in Nigeria.
The Permanent Secretary who was represented by the Director, Department of Health Planning Research and Statistic, (FMOH), Dr. Emmanuel Meribole, stated this during the opening ceremony of the first World Health Organization (WHO) African Region Value for Money (VFM),Training of Trainers (TOT) Workshop, held in Abuja, recently.
Mr. Abdullahi noted that ‘’ The Federal Ministry of Health has maintained a formidable and long lasting partnership with WHO Country and Regional office, in the last one or two decades’.
He further said “this Partnership, which is anchored on a common objective of building a resilient Health System towards accelerating and sustaining Universal Health Coverage(UHC), has contributed in no small measure to the current gains and trajectory in Nigeria’s health system today’’
Mr. Abdullahi stressed that ‘’ the aim of the workshop which is to support the roll-out of VFM implementation in the African Region is very apt, particularly coming at a time when there is renewed global and national attention towards improving health outcomes and achieving Universal Health Coverage’.
He also said that the VFM in the health sector would maximize the impact of resources spent towards improving health care system in Nigeria.
He pointed out that ‘’ it is also about prioritizing our interventions in the health sector and deriving maximum benefit from the scarce funds we have. It is about efficiency and effectiveness’’ the Permanent Secretary added.
To this end, Mr. Abdullahi emphasized that ‘’ this TOT workshop on Value for Money organized by the WHO as part of strategies for implementing the 13th General Program of Work (GPW13) which encapsulates her reform agenda and the African Region Transformation Agenda towards UHC is coming at the appropriate time’’
He informed that ‘’ the Federal Government of Nigeria is currently investing additional domestic resources amounting to over 180 Million US Dollars annually, in addition to her annual budgetary allocation, to the sector’’
Earlier, in his remarks, the WHO Officer In Charge, Nigeria, Dr. Clement Peters said that ‘’ this training is therefore the first in the WHO African Region and is expected to enhance the capacity of trainers who will facilitate in the rollout of VFM and Operational Planning in their respective Budget Centres’’
He further said that ‘’ it will also equip the trainers with new tools that will make WHO fit- for- purpose and complete within the current changing development landscape’’.
Dr. Peters noted that ‘’ WHO Nigeria is privileged and has a unique opportunity of engaging in VFM implementation, considering its large operations and re- positioning to better support the ongoing health reforms in the country. This training brings added value to our work in Nigeria within the overall framework of accountability’’.
The Training of Trainers had in attendance over 80 participants from over 44 countries.
Boade Akinola (Mrs.)
Director, Media and Public Relations
25/06/19
