WHO rates Ekiti high for outstanding performance in health sector
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended Ekiti State for its outstanding performance in the health sector.
Akeem Busari, the international organization’s state coordinator, rated the state government high for its efforts to improve the health and well-being of the residents.
He made it known that the state had recorded tremendous improvements in the health sector, as evidenced by the most recent reports received by the global health organisation.
Busari stated this during a three-day technical workshop on a joint annual review for the state health sector, which was held in Ilupeju-Ekiti and organized by the state government.
Declaring the workshop open, Dr. Oyebanji Filani, the State’s Commissioner for Health and Human Services, said it was designed to conduct an in-depth review of state health sector data to determine the sector’s performance and identify opportunities for improving the state data ecosystem for effective health care service delivery.
He further stated that other objectives of the workshop include reviewing the health sector data from surveys and routine and administrative sources and identifying areas for interventions to ensure sustained improvement.
Dr. Filani expressed appreciation to the Ekiti Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, for approving the recruitment of a large number of health workers, including doctors, nurses, midwives, and community health officers, to fill existing vacancies.
Earlier in their goodwill messages, the Permanent Secretary of the hospital’s Management Board, Dr. Olasunkanmi Alabi; Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Rasheed Adepoju; and the Project Coordinator of Excellence Community Education Welfare Scheme (ECEWS), Dr. Odilade Adewole, lauded the Ekiti state government and UNICEF for initiating the workshop, describing it as timely, appropriate, and a step in the right direction that would have an enduring impact.
The Director of Planning, Research and Statistics and the lead facilitator, Dr. Sunday Omoya, emphasized that the review workshop would also assess progress toward Ekiti State health goals and objectives and inform policy decisions and resource allocation in the sector.
Papers presented by various facilitators, program officers, and health development partners concentrate on areas such as the sector-wide approach — highlights and progress; 2024 budget performance; introduction to health data sources for state situation analysis; PHC service delivery and data management; health insurance, progress, and challenges; and quality of care improvement in Ekiti State, amongst others.
The workshop participants include permanent secretaries, general managers, executive secretaries, directors, and program officers, as well as health development partners such as WHO, UNICEF, Excellence Community Education Welfare Scheme (ECEWS), Solina, Johns Hopkins (Jhpiego), and Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).
