PROTOCOLS
- Three years ago, the Health Sector Renewal Compact turned the many siloed health plans of Nigeria into one promise: one plan, one budget, one report and one conversation. This Joint Annual Review is where we critically examine the promise at every level and sector of our health system; public or private, federal, state or local, and also with our development partners, looking at ourselves honestly, frankly and collectively. The JAR is therefore not a mere ceremony but a working platform to measure performance against the compact, spotlights what works so that others can adopt it, and ends with clear resolutions that are assigned to MDAs, partners and persons responsible, with defined timelines for action.
- This year’s theme, “Make the Data Count”, conveys two meanings: every number must be dependable enough to steer by, and every number must be used to change a life. It commits us that every data we collect, store or tracke must be useful and actionable. A mother counted at her first antenatal visit should be counted again at delivery, and a child counted at birth should be counted at every vaccination.
- This theme also means that data must count as our score card, our future projections and the consolidation of the historic reform initiated as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR.
- Under the Sector Wide Approach and the One Plan, One Budget and One Accountability Framework, we promised to move past ceremonial policy announcements and provide verifiable results. The JAR book, our annual statistical publication being presented for the second year at this review gives us the platform to keep this promise by highlighting our progress, achievements, implementation gaps, and emerging priorities in our health sector transformation agenda. With every state and the FCT holding its own JAR this year, we have taken the conversation from halls in Abuja to our grassroots, and, with the Compact Addendum of 2025 bringing local governments, the private sector, and our traditional and religious institutions to the table, there is now across society inclusion and unified execution.
- This years JAR is particularly important as it leads us to the finish line of the first term of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Looking back to the 42 months of this adminstration and 35 months of the health sector compact, we can see how data is being made to count in reshaping healthcare delivery across the country and the progress we have made through measurable milestones.
- Under this president, we have added almost 8 million more Nigerians to our health insurance banner with over 3 million of them in the vulnerable class. We are directly supporting over 8000 PHCs, more than doubled PHC utilization, delivered more than 290 billion Naira for basic healthcare and improved more than 3000 PHCs to reach level 2 readiness. Facility reported maternal deaths has fallen by about 60% compared to 2024 while facility reported neonatal and under 5 deaths has fallen by 22 and 25% respectively. Local production is moving from ambition to production lines with data from the pharmaceutical group of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria and NAFDAC showing about 10% increase in the number of active local pharmaceutical companies and local production share growing from 30 to 50% between 2023 and 2026.
- Overall, we have delivered substantially on the 8 points health priorities of the renewed hope agenda and our key perfomance indicators scoring between 92 and 60% across programme areas on governance, health security, local production, health financing, primary and secondary care, workforce and jobs, mental health, equity and quality and preventive care.
- Today, we will see some of this progress as we spotlight our review on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH), the regulation of food and drugs, emergency transport, our free maternal and newborn services, MAMII, and then health financing, where we shall ask how much, how fast, and how well spent. Tomorrow, we will turn to nutrition, non-communicable diseases and local manufacturing, with a MAMII compact session and the scientific conference where evidence meets practice.
- On Thursday, health security will take the stage as we are reminded by the Ebola alert of last month that preparedness is a daily discipline. We shall launch the Mini-DHS report which we promised to deliver from the 2024 JAR. Also, to be unveilled is the National Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy 2026–2030, and the task-shifting and task-sharing guidelines. Survey and routine data answer different questions, so we shall read them side by side; where they differ, we will treat that as an instruction to look deeper, not a reason to look away.
- Distinguish ladies and gentlemen, the year 2027 is the final year of the Health Sector Strategic Blueprint and the year for mandate renewal. The JAR is our answer scripts to the many health sector questions Nigerians are asking. Despite the many progress already made, the job is not fully done. I therefore expect this JAR to leave us with a short list of resolutions, each with a person, department, agency, or partner(s) who take responsibility and a timeline within which it must be folded into the 2027 annual operational plans and accomplished. With DHIS2 being firmly established as one source of truth, linked to our records and registries before the end-term evaluation; and with reviews that are led by states and local governments and driven by complete and timely data, the JAR should be moving from reviewing activities to reviewing results, citizen-centred, state-led and evidence-first.
- Over the last 3 cycles, this Joint Annual Review has become the truth machine that keeps our health sector honest, unified, moving forward and seeing into the future. So, when Mr. President promised a 2031 of at least 90% functional PHCs, direct quartely financing of at least 17,600 PHCs throught the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, 40% of Nigerians enrolled in health insurance, 774 local governments of our country covered by MAMII and out pocket expenses for health of below 50%, Nigerians find it plausible because they can transparently see what progress has been made in the last 42 months of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and also see the path to the promises made.
- For many years, our health system operated in the dark, building clinics without knowing exactly where the burden of disease lay and allocating resources not based on system-wide ground truth. The Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and its component like JAR has changed the narrative as we now make data count not only in the health transformation agenda being spearheaded by the president but also in the future being envisage for the Nigerian health system.
- In concluding this address, let me appreciate the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Coordinating Minister, Permanent Secretary, Directors, head of agencies and indeed all staff of the ministry. I thank our governors and commissioners of health, our partners, the private sector, traditional and religious leaders and every health worker who counts, manages and reports. Let us continue to do a proper count of lives, not just the numbers, and let what we count make a difference in the lives of the people.
Together to higher grounds, let us continue on this transformative journey, where every Naira spent translates into lives saved and where no mother has to gamble with her life because the system lacked the fidelity to track her care.
Let us give our data conscience and make it count so that every Nigerian from the remotest to the most urban truly counts.
And so, with peace and plenty, Nigeria shall be blessed.
Thank you for your attention.
Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako
Honourable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Federal Republic of Nigeria
