Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) at a recent scorecard validation have raised concerns about Nigeria’s health sector performance, highlighting significant shortfalls in key areas such as family planning and immunization.
The Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent, Elderly Health + Nutrition (RMNCAEH+N) scorecard validation workshop which was organised by the African Budget Network(AHBN), provided an opportunity for review and validate the key indicators and metrics that have been developed.
The Programme Manager of the Health Reform Foundation Of Nigeria, Dr Opeyemi Adeosun, said, the scorecard assessment reveals that the government has failed to meet its commitments to partner with UNFPA and pay $4 million annually for family planning initiatives adding that last year’s payment was only made possible through a World Bank donation.
Adeosun also explained that the scorecard also shows that the government has not fulfilled its promise to pay over 69 billion naira for immunization programs in partnership with Gavi.
“This funding gap puts Nigeria’s ability to meet its immunization targets at risk, leaving vulnerable populations susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases.
“The assessment also highlights disparities between allocated funds and actual releases for healthcare programs like RMNCAEH+N, indicating inefficiencies in the healthcare financing system.”
He, therefore, emphasised the need for collective action to address these shortcomings.
“The scorecard provides a holistic view of what is working and what is not. We must work together to improve Nigeria’s health outcomes,” he said.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of Vaccine Network for Disease Control, Chika Offor, explained that the Scorecard is a tool that helps CSOs to achieve targets by looking at everything holistically.
Offor added that it examines what’s working and what’s not, as well as what was budgeted, appropriated, and released.
“This comprehensive view puts things into perspective, allowing us to identify areas where we need to work harder, especially for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). We use a color-coded system to track progress”
“Green indicates what the government has done well. Amber indicates what the government has attempted to do but needs improvement.”
“This Scorecard framework enables us to focus on areas that require attention and work collaboratively towards achieving our goals.”
Meanwhile, the former House Committee Chairman on Healthcare, Hon. Mohammed Usman noted that the current Scorecard results are not very good, with a negative outcome on the indicators.
“That’s why we’re here today to highlight some of these areas of concern. We need to work together to address these issues and improve our performance,” he added.
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