The State-Wide Health Accountability Project (SWAp) is championing
data-driven performance management in Nigeria’s health system to enhance accountability and efficiency within the sector.
The National Coordinator of SWAp, Dr Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, said this during the State Quarterly Performance Dialogue on Monday in Abuja, highlighting positive indicators in key health trends.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the inaugural Quarterly Performance Dialogue has
the presence of the Federal Government, the 36 state governments and key health sector stakeholders.
It is designed to transform the health system through the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and the Sector-Wide Approach.
It emphasises cooperative federalism as mandated by the National Health Act of 2014.
The aim of the dialogue is to foster shared responsibility and collaboration among health providers at various government levels, the private sector and development partners.
The SWAp national coordinator, therefore, outlined strategic plan to boost the health system’s efficiency through data analysis and state-level engagement.
He emphasised Federal Government’s role in providing necessary support and resources to states and fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement in the health system.
Umar-Sadiq added that “by focusing on accurate data and regular performance reviews, the health sector can enhance service delivery and achieve better outcomes for all Nigerians.”
He acknowledged the transition from faith-based to evidence-based programme implementation, noting that in spite of data limitations, the shift would improve reliability of health data.
He called for active involvement from state commissioners, saying that “collaboration is crucial for regional challenges and leveraging local insights.
“Efforts are being made to triangulate data from various sources, including the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), to ensure accurate and comprehensive information.
“Recent performance assessments reported significant advancement in maternal and child health outcomes across various states.
“We also observed improvements in skilled birth attendants’ practice, antenatal care visits and childhood immunisation rates.
“These indicators reflect ongoing efforts to enhance access to quality healthcare services for mothers and children.”
He, therefore, stressed the need for continued efforts to ensure comprehensive antenatal care and effective childhood immunisation.
He acknowledged regional disparities, noting stronger performance in the South West and South-South regions compared to challenges identified in the North Central region, particularly in malaria treatment protocols.
Dr Ahmad Abdulwahab, the Health Lead of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat, commended the comprehensive overview of national maternal and child health developments, highlighting areas of success and opportunities for improvement across the country.
Abdulwahab stressed the need to improve the reporting system by starting data reporting from the facility level, rather than the local government level.
“This change would reduce transcription errors and improve data quality. By digitising the reporting system at the facility level and providing tablets to these facilities, data can be more accurately recorded and reported directly,” he said.
According to him, the approach aims to enhance the overall reliability of health data and pave the way for future electronic health records.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, highlighted the critical need to improve data quality and collection tools to assess and enhance the performance of the health system.
Pate called on development partners to collaborate with federal, state, and local governments to strengthen front-end capacities, ensuring accurate data transcription and evaluative data usage over time.
He emphasised the importance of addressing workforce adequacy, supply chains and service delivery to meet health targets.
He also called for unified efforts across government levels and partners to optimise resource use and improve health outcomes.
NAN recalls that the dialogue reaffirms the ministry’s commitment to improve health outcomes for all. (NAN)
