‘How to improve implementation of accountability framework for health security financing’

Health experts have called for improved collaboration and disaggregated data to ensure effective implementation of the accountability framework for health financing in the country.

They made the call yesterday during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) funded Prevent Epidemic project (PE) in Abuja.

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Gafar Alawode, the project director of Prevent Epidemics Project said there is need to strengthen partnership between stakeholders and also utilise the data mined.

He said the project targets  improving the policy financing and legal framework for health security financing in Nigeria, adding that it has worked to ensure increased financing for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)  and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies on the National Action Plan for (NAHP).

He said, “We have made some progress at the national level, and supported states in terms of improved allocation and funding for health security but there are still challenges in terms of tracking and accessing disaggregated data.

“To track, we don’t have access to the data so that at the end of the day, we look at the framework in terms of which data to access and how to form a very strong partnership with our stakeholders.”

Kafayat Alawode, Senior Knowledge Management and Monitoring and evaluation Advisor, Prevent Epidemic Project, in her presentation titled ‘Overview of the health security financing accountability framework’ said for the resource mobilisation efforts for Epidemic Prevention Response (EPR) to translate to result, value for money must be enshrined in the processes.

She said, “One of the measures geared towards improved efficiency of health security financing is to raise the accountability bar for resource mobilisation and uitilisation.”

 Iniobong Usen, Senior Research and Policy Analyst, Budgit, said some accountability efforts so far include more availability of budget data at subnational level in open data format, creation of EPR line items in the budget of Lagos and Kano states, and creation of legislation on health security in Kano State.

He said there was a need for better collaboration between states and federal government and between NAPHS implementing MDAs.

He also called for improved disaggregated reporting of actual spending at the federal and state levels.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, said there is need for civil society organsiations particularly in the states and media to hold implementers of programmes in the country accountable instead of focusing on budgetary allocations by the national assembly.

While calling for an improved primary healthcare system in the country, he said there is a need for a whole health system strengthening.