A non-governmental organisation, LAFIYA Programme, is training 34 Civil Society Organisation(CSOs) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) to monitor utilisation of funds released to the health sector in Borno State.
The three-day training is funded by UKaid and implemented by LAFIYA Programme in collaboration with Network of Civil Society Organisation Borno State.
The State Team Lead LAFIYA Programme, Dr Susan Gana Okonko, told Kanem Trust in Maiduguri that the goal was to build the capacity of non-government stakeholders at the grassroots to effectively monitor the spending of the health sector in the state.
She disclosed that the training has as theme: ‘Capacity Building for CBOs and CSOs on Effective Tracking of Health Budget and Continuity Essential Services during COVID-19 Pandemic’.
“Simply put, we want to train our CSOs and CBOs. We just have to give them skill and tools to track health investment.
“We advocate for an increase in health sector allocation; we want to equip them with the skills they need,” she said.
One of the participants and chairman of the Network of Civil Society Organisations in the state, Amb Ahmed Shehu, described the training as an eye-opener for stakeholders in local communities.
He stressed that the health sector was facing challenges due to insurgency that destroyed many of its infrastructure.
He added that the training would equip local communities with relevant information on health sector releases to enable them to monitor the implementation.