Following the suspension of global health funding from the United States government, the Ogun State Government, in collaboration with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), launched the Health Systems Sustainability Task Force to strengthen resilience, ensure coordinated service delivery, and promote government ownership of critical health functions.
During the inauguration in Abeokuta, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, who chairs the Task Force, said the move was necessary due to the disruption caused by the suspension of global health funding earlier in the year, which exposed the vulnerabilities of Nigeria’s health system and affected essential services such as HIV, tuberculosis, reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH). and malaria. interventions.
Dr Coker, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr Kayode Oladehinde, explained that the Task Force would coordinate government and partner response efforts, drive accountability and develop sustainable mechanisms to address systemic barriers in service delivery, workforce, health financing, commodities and data management.
He noted that the multi-stakeholder platform would provide decision-making support to the Governor and the Executive Council while ensuring that lessons learned are documented and shared with other states and national platforms.
According to her, the Task Force would advocate for high-level political commitment, conduct a situation analysis of the health sector and establish technical subcommittees on service delivery, human resources for health, health financing, supply chain, health data systems and health security.
The Commissioner emphasized that the Task Force would regularly report to the Governor and collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Health to align state actions with national priorities, reaffirming the government’s commitment to building a resilient system capable of withstanding future crises and ensuring uninterrupted services for the people of Ogun State.
“The task before us is enormous but I am glad that this initiative reflects the vision of the state government to achieve sustainable health for all residents of Ogun through stronger coordination, adequate funding and institutional accountability at all levels of the health system,” he added.
In his goodwill message, the State Coordinator of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Mr. Solape Folarin, described the initiative as inevitable to sustain the achievements of the various health programs evident in Ogun State and called for the inclusion of all stakeholders in the health sector to achieve the set objectives.
The Executive Director of the Young Future Savers Initiative (YFSI), Mr. Tayo Akinpelu, who spoke on behalf of civil society organizations in the state, assured that significant contributions will be made to ensure that the Task Force effectively discharges the task entrusted to it.