By Oluwatoyin Adegoke
The Ogun State Government, in partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative ,CHAI, has inaugurated a Health Systems Sustainability Task Force to strengthen resilience, improve coordination and promote government ownership of key health programmes.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abeokuta, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, said the initiative became necessary following the suspension of U.S. Government global health funding earlier in the year, which exposed weaknesses in Nigeria’s health system and disrupted services such as HIV, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Child Health.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Kayode Oladehinde, Dr. Coker explained that the Task Force would coordinate response efforts, strengthen accountability and develop sustainable strategies to address challenges in financing, workforce, supply chain and data management.
The Commissioner noted that the platform would guide the Governor and Executive Council with evidence-based decisions while sharing lessons with other states and national health bodies.
She added that the Task Force would push for strong political commitment, conduct a sector analysis and establish technical subcommittees on service delivery, human resources, financing, logistics and health security.
In goodwill messages, the State Coordinator of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency NPHCDA, Mr. Solape Folarin and the Executive Director of the Youth Future Savers Initiative ,YFSI Mr. Tayo Akinpelu, commended the initiative and pledged full support to help the Task Force achieve its goals.
