The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other stakeholders in the health sector have advocated improved funding for maternal and child health care.
The experts who came together to discuss the challenges facing Nigeria’s healthcare financing at a workshop and stakeholders’ engagement on budgeting and financing of Primary Healthcare and maternal and child health, organized by Development Governance International (DGI) Consult, with funding from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), stressed the need to prioritize and address the critical gaps identified through the research findings and emphasized the critical need for increased and sustained investment in the health sector to strengthen PHC service delivery.
In his opening remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of DGI Consult, Dr. Gafar Alawode, explained that the objective was to disseminate key findings from the public health expenditure analysis, advocating increased investments in priority areas; sharing policy recommendations and secure stakeholders’ commitment to improve resource allocation as well as to chart a course of action for implementation of the policy recommendations and identify strategies to optimize public health financing, particularly PHC and Maternal Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH), at the state and local government levels.
Also, in his welcome address, a Health Specialist at UNICEF, Dr. Sachin Bhokare, explained the need to ensure that every Nigerian, particularly women, children, and the most vulnerable, have access to quality, affordable, and equitable health care.
He noted that the event serves as a platform to disseminate findings from the budget analysis, celebrate progress made, identify persistent challenges, and, importantly, deliberate on practical, evidence-based strategies to strengthen public health financing.
Bhokare emphasized that the workshop is an opportunity to align priorities, renew commitments at the sub-national level, and take concrete actions to ensure that budgetary allocations lead to tangible, measurable improvements in health outcomes, particularly in maternal, newborn, and child health.
In their separate goodwill messages, the Commissioner for Finance, Niger State, Mallam Lawal A. Maikano, Senior Health Advisor, Nigeria’s Governors Forum, Dr. Ahmad Abdulwahab, the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Gombe State, Mallam Sani Haruna, and the Chief of Party, Abt Global, Dr. Bolanle Olusola-Faleye, encouraged health stakeholders to demonstrate commitment and diligence in the effective utilization of allocated resources.
They stressed the need to prioritize and address the critical gaps identified through the research findings and emphasized the critical need for increased and sustained investment in the health sector to strengthen PHC service delivery.
The workshop, which took place at the Radiance Spring Hotel, Gudu, Abuja, examined the summaries of earlier public health expenditure analyses conducted across four Nigerian states: Bayelsa, Gombe, Niger, and Taraba.
It reviewed the key findings on health budget allocations, expenditure patterns, spending distribution, and overall efficiency in resource utilization. The workshop also assessed the effectiveness of the GAVI Primary Health Care (PHC) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in 2022 between the GAVI health system strengthening project and eight state governments in catalyzing increased government investment in the health sector.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Gafar Alawode, the Chief Executive Officer of DGI, emphasized the importance of implementing the recommendations and action plans developed by each state during the workshop. He also provided an overview of key insights from the panel discussion, particularly regarding innovative financing mechanisms, such as those currently being implemented in Niger State.