Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Alli Pate, has once again expressed the Federal Government’s readiness to end maternal mortality and improve child healthcare in Nigeria. Prof. Pate stated this at the 8th Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) meeting in Abuja on Friday. The meeting was convened by the Minister to deliberate on the progress with BHCPF implementation.
The MOC approved ₦12.911 billion for disbursement to NHIA, NPHCDA, NCDC, and NEMSAS for the fourth quarter of 2024.
In a chat with newsmen, the Minister said with the reforms and other initiatives in the health sector, the objective to eliminate maternal mortality will soon be realized.
To make healthcare services affordable to the poor and vulnerable populations, Prof. Pate disclosed that additional 2.4 million enrollees have been included to the vulnerable group fund.
“If you look at the data again, you will discover that 2.4 million additional enrollees have be included to the vulnerable group fund over the last one year, which means they’re able to afford healthcare and through that we also know that there are resources to ensure affordability, particularly for the poor and vulnerable populations”.
On the implementation of BHCPF, the Minister said, “some states are doing well, states like Anambra; but it’s a journey and we’re on that journey together with the FG working with the state and all that.
“So, I believe overtime, our objectives to crush maternal mortality, improve child health outcome in Nigeria will come to reality”, he assured.
According to him, the Sector Wide Approach unveiled by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in December 2023 is moving forward and good progress is being made, adding that BHCPF is one of the elements in the programme.
“We are seeing the execution proceeding and the governance of it is also improving collectively between the federal, state and local governments, Civil Societies, Development Partners, and the Private Sector coming togather to discuss issues around funding and ensure resources go to the frontlines.
“So we’re making progress on improving the governance of the health sector which will translate in improving the population health outcome”.
The Minister said other elements in the Sector Wide Approach include the primary healthcare workers being enabled to carry out their duties, disclosing that the training of integrated healthcare workers is underway.
“As you have heard, the training of the integrated healthcare worker is underway. We have announced that we will train about 150,000 primary healthcare workers as part of the President’s initiative, 40,000 have already been re-train, and more will be trained going forward”.
He said the President’s leadership on the continent as the African Union champion on human resources for health and community health delivery is being backed by actions.
Spark News Daily reports that at the end of the 8th MOC meeting, the following resolutions were reached:
– The 8th MOC meeting presented memos for the adoption of the revised BHCPF 2.0 Guideline, the accountability framework, and the disbursement of funds for the 4th quarter of the 2023 financial year.
– Fund Disbursement Approval: The MOC approved ₦12.911 billion for disbursement to NHIA, NPHCDA, NCDC, and NEMSAS for the fourth quarter of 2024, based on the current BHCPF Guideline.
– A subcommittee, including representatives from SSHIA, the MOC Secretariat, NHIA, CSOs, WHO, and SPHCDA, will address delay in disbursement and report back within 2 weeks.
– The MOC will reconvene in mid-December to disburse funds for the 1st quarter of 2025.
– The revised BHCPF 2.0 Guideline was accepted, with provisions for further amendments. Additional consultations with the gateways and subnational stakeholders will be conducted to ensure alignment with the Sector-Wide Approach.
– The Accountability Framework has been adopted by the MOC and shall be improved upon as implementation rolls out.
The Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) ensures the effective implementation, transparency, and accountability of the fund.
It oversees the BHCPF’s strategic direction, monitors fund disbursement, and ensures alignment among the four gateways NHIA, NPHCDA, NEMSAS, and NCDC.
The MOC’s role is to ensure effective utilization of resources to improve access to quality healthcare for underserved populations, coordinate stakeholders and promote adherence to national health policies.
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