Stakeholders in Kebbi State’s health sector, following a four-day interactive workshop, have endorsed the necessity for policy coordination to enhance the state’s healthcare system.
Organised by USAID State2State and supported by the Kebbi State Ministry of Health, the workshop held in Sokoto focused on developing the “Kebbi State 2025-2029 Strategic Health Development Plan.”
The aim was to formulate a strategic plan for the health sector, encompassing policies, programme implementation, and service delivery.
The workshop also provided a platform to review and harmonise thematic content for the draft health development plan, outlining goals, strategic objectives, and interventions.
Discussions also covered macroeconomic implications, costing, and requirements for financial and human resources across various thematic areas.
Dr. Shehu Nuhu Koko, the Permanent Secretary of the Kebbi State Ministry of Health, expressed gratitude for USAID State2State’s support and collaboration in revising the state’s expired strategic health plan, last updated in 2022.
Dr Shehu expressed optimism that the outcome of the workshop will align the state health sector plan with national health policies towards achieving universal health coverage by the year 2030.
“This workshop is expected to map out five-year strategic plans in the health sector in conformity with the national health care strategic plans that will guarantee improvement in health care financing, human resources for health, and health infrastructure to be put in place with all necessary amenities, especially at the PHC level.
“All these are achievable with the implementation of universal health coverage and the innovation to bring the private sector into health financing,” he said.
Buttressing the need for her presence at the health stakeholders meeting, Hajiya Aisha Usman, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, said, “This being a planning event, the presence of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning is essential to give technical support and enable us to do medium-term sector strategic (MTSS) planning that will form part of the 2025 budget process.”
Emphasising the need for policy synergy within the health sector, Usman Faleye, State Team Lead, USAID State2State, enjoined participants to maximise the gains of the workshop in turning around the fortunes of the Kebbi state health sector through strategic plans.
There were presentations on health data, the current state strategic health development plan for 2017–2022, and the need for a review of the current plan and an introduction to basic strategic planning, its importance, and key components by Olatunji Awoleye, the consultant hired by the Kebbi State Ministry of Health.
Among the relevant stakeholders at the workshop are the Permanent Secretaries, Provost of the College of Nursing Science, and School of Health Technology, respectively, including development partners in the areas of health.
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