HEALTHCARE SERVICE DELIVERY: FG TO FOCUS ON THREE KEY ANCHOR POINTS.... Pate Reveals

Prof Muhammad Ali Pate
Coordinating Minister, 
Health & Social Welfare Ministry

“We will increase the effectiveness of our governance to improve health outcomes and change the disease burden in Nigeria." Pate.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate has reassured of the commitment of the Federal Government, through the administration of the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to work on achieving three key things for the overall good of Nigerians.

Professor Pate, alongside the Minister of State gave these reassurances on Saturday 9 September 2023 during a maiden press briefing on the renewed Hope Agenda, held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, FCT Abuja.

A statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations Unit of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Patricia Deworitshe, disclosed that the objective of the brief aims towards engaging the media and provide information following a 3-day Ministerial Briefing Session organized by the FMoH & SW.

At the maiden press briefing, Professor Pate reiterated governments’ resolve to; Save Lives, Reduce pain, both physical/financial and, Produce health. 

Expatiating, the Coordinating Minister explained that, with the effectiveness of our governance, “We will increase the effectiveness of our governance to improve health outcomes and change the disease burden in Nigeria. In doing so, we will accelerate and sustain the reduction in communicable diseases, especially among children and secondly, arrest the progression of growing non-communicable diseases; particularly ‘lifestyle diseases’ like Diabetes, Cancers and Cardiovascular disease which are becoming more prevalent with age.”

“To do so, our core responsibilities as a governing body are: Regulation: Strengthening regulation by focusing regulators on not just accreditation to quality assurance to ensure citizens are getting quality assured clinical services, medical products and care.

“Accountability: Create transparency and accountability across the entire healthcare system. We will make information about healthcare processes, costs, quality and outcomes more easily accessible and understandable to all stakeholders. In addition, individuals and organizations would accountable for delivering high quality care and following best practices. 

“Data: Ensure consistent access to high-quality and transparent health data that we use for decision making and intervention design. We will address the fragmentation and lack of inter-operability, which currently negatively affect our data collection and dissemination today.

Speaking on increasing efficiencies of our health care service delivery, Pate revealed that, Government, through the FMoH & SW, “Will strengthen our hospital infrastructure; We will design innovative ways to reduce the cost burden and inefficiencies that come with traditional infrastructure and equipment ownership and maintenance models.”

“We will increase the quality of care; We will deploy patient-centric, inclusive, and equitable services to increase the quality of care. This means we will design mechanisms to incorporate the ’citizen’s’ voice in how we design and improve services.

“We will transform our human resources for health; We will grow the pipeline of medical workers in the country and retain existing talent to limit the effects of emigration.”

He further noted that, “We will prioritize equity and be people oriented in service delivery thereby, ensuring access to all Nigerians-especially the most vulnerable populations. Our own mindset will become more people oriented to ensure people feel respected and valued.

“We will unlock value chains and enable production of medical devices, products and pharmaceuticals within Nigeria for Nigerians; supporting import substitution goal and ensuring these products and services have sustainable markets and can reliably reach our citizens.”

In his conclusion, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare stressed that, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, “We will ensure health security as Nigeria is prepared and able, to effectively respond to outbreaks, pandemics, and humanitarian.”