The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has read the riot act to State Governments following the disbursement of $1.5 million to each of the 36 States and the FCT under the Saving One Million Lives Programme for Results of the Ministry.
The Minister made the remarks in Kaduna during an operationalization meeting of the SOMLP4R organized by the Federal Ministry of Health in Partnership with MNCH2 programme.
Adewole noted that the SOMLP4R had disbursed a performance-based grant of $1.5 million each to the 36 states and the FCT in the health sector.
He said the programme is motivated by the desire to pay for results rather than paying for processes and reimbursing activity.
Adewole said the programme had six major pillars and two enablers that can change health outcomes in Nigeria.
He outlined the pillars as Maternal New Born and Child Health, Childhood Essential Medicines and increasing treatment of Childhood Diseases, Improving Child Nutrition, Immunization, Malaria Control and Elimination of Mother to Child transmission of HIV and the enablers as Promoting Innovation and use of ICT and improving Supply and Distribution Chain.
The minister, who disclosed that states receive 82 per cent of the grant and that further disbursement will be made based on five Disbursement Linked Indicators.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, who was the chief host of the meeting, in his brief remark thanked the Minister and assured him of his commitment to the SOMLP4R.
El-Rufai emphasized his state’s commitment to complete the process of establishing PHCUOR and announced efforts by his government to improve the 255 PHCs and 23 comprehensive health centres in his state as well as other efforts related to the indicators such as encouraging routine immunisation through meetings with Local Government Chairs and Traditional Rulers.
“We welcome SOMLP4R and embrace it. I and other North West governors are committed to improving healthcare in our states,” El-Rufai said.
El-Rufai pleaded with the Federal Government to support states to implement the SBHIS so as to reduce out of pocket spending and enable the poor and vulnerable afford medical care.
The National Team Lead of the MNCH2, Dr. Salma Anas-Kolo, said the SOMLP4R aligns with her programme’s mandate to drastically reduce maternal deaths and improve survival rate.
Anas-Kolo stressed that Nigeria contributes more than 10 per cent of the global burden and highlighted that about 70 per cent of the burden in Nigeria is brought by the six North West states.
Anas Kolo called for an integrated approach to deliver MNCH services using Primary Health Centres as the platform and called for increased government funding.
She commended the Kaduna State Government, revealing that the programme has witnessed a lot of significant improvement in the state, especially in the area of human resources.
“If by 2019, MNCH2 in collaboration with Government and relevant partners are able improve maternal health and strengthen health systems in the North West region, the overall health indices in Nigeria will improve,” she said.
Dr. Benjamin Loevinsoh, Chief of Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank, explained that the philosophy of the SOML programme was around these cardinal points: Robust Measurement of Results, Responsibility of States, Competition, Relevant Performance not absolute and Reducing Risk.
Loevinsoh however noted that states will compete against themselves based on their own baseline as progress and improvement is of the most importance to them.
The meeting, which held from August 16 to 17, 2016, had in attendance key stakeholders in the health sector drawn from across the North West states and Yobe as well as development institutions and partners, including Hajiya Binta Lami Adamu Bello, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health; Dr. Adebimpe Adebiyi, the Director of Family Health; Dr. Ibrahim Kana, the National Programme Coordinator of the SOMLP4R; and Prof. J. I. Brian Adinma, the President of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria; as well as commissioners and key executives from the various states represented.
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