Bauchi state Ministry of Health in collaboration with the United State Agency for International Development USAID funded Integrated Health Program IHP, has organized a 3-day workshop for critical stakeholders in the health sector on Factsheet Development and Sustainability Plan Review.
The workshop is aimed at providing the most updated data and status of the state’s health system which will serve as a roadmap for the state to be able to track over times, as well as to provide a way forward for the state government to be able to take ownership an sustain the various interventions of the development partners.
In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary from the state Ministry of Health Ali Babayo said this is one of the important aspects of partnership with the USAID/IHP, as it has been supporting the Bauchi state government with a lots of interventions geared towards improving the state’s health sector.
Ali Babayo said, “Actually this is one of the collaboration of the NGOs aimed at improving the capacities of our Health Sector in order to deliver on our services effectively and efficiently to the people of Bauchi state. We are very happy and proud to be associated with this development because our government is a healthcare friendly government.”
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| ALI BABAYO Permanent Secretary, State Min. Of Health |
He added that, “The government has extended a hands of fellowship to any organizational institution that is willing to contribute towards the promotion of health activities in the state and this is one of the important agencies that we are always collaborating with and we have been receiving series of intervention from them in terms of capacity building and other facilities that they have been supplying over the years.”
One of the focal point of the workshop is the issue of sustainability as many development partners have been supporting the state government and one day, they will exit when their project is over.
However, the permanent secretary said, “Actually what these development partners are doing is just a coincidence, because the Bauchi state government has started much earlier. For instance under the present leadership, Health Summit was organized for the first time and also the government has declared a State of Emergency in the Health Sector.”
“These two important activities are on the drawing board and therefore the state governor has already made the plan for everything including sustainability of the programs. So what IHP is doing today is only assisting the government to redeem the pledges it has made in terms of service delivery in the health sector for the people of Bauchi state,” the permanent secretary said.
He however reiterated the commitment of the state government to sustain all the programs in the health sector, saying, “We are very much prepared to ensure sustainability of major programs and I am sure the government is giving us all the support we require because there is a strong political will from the government,”
On his part, State Technical Director for USAID funded Integrated Program IHP Dr. Ibrahim Kabo, said, “Factsheet Development is what would inform the correct information about Bauchi state in terms of demography, health sector, including the health system, where the leadership and governance, health financing, the information system, the human resource for health is going to be looked into, so that the state has the most updated data where each and everyone can at glance have the overview of the state. And in so doing also to serve as a baseline the state will be able to track over time any improvement.”
Dr. Kabo also said, “The sustainability plan is because we do know that Bauchi state is doing a lot, investing hugely in the health sector and there are also donors and partners that are working in the state with a view to strengthen the capacity of the state and also ensure that the indices are improved.”
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| DR. IBRAHIM KABO USAID/IHP State Technical Director, Bauchi |
“While the implementing partners are supporting the state, there is always need for the state to own, to lead and to sustain the gains. Is only when the state has a robust sustainability plans where by all those kind of activities in the state; the innovations, the evidence base interventions that the partners are supporting the state to implement, gradually there will be a kind of transition where by the state will continue to conduct or to implement, to fund, to monitor, to track so that the state will journey to self reliance where the states would be able to do based on the resources that they generate,” he said.
He however expressed confidence on the way Bauchi state government is improving on investing huge resources in the health sector, as well as the way the capacity of stakeholders in the health sector of the state is being built, coupled with the ways private sector and civil society organizations are equally involved and engaged.
The IHP Technical Director however called the state government to improve on its budgetary allocation for the health sector, timely releases of funds, as well as payment of counterpart funding and also the area of human resource for health.
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