Adebayo Adenrele
The Ekiti State government has organized a 2-day leadership retreat for critical stakeholders across the state health sector in Ado Ekiti.
Speaking at the flag off of the event in Ado-Ekiti, the State Commissioner for Health and Human Services , Filani Oyebanji stated that the retreat is aimed at strengthening the health system and repositioning it for greater accomplishments with emphasis on enhancing access and utilization of quality healthcare services by the people of Ekiti State.
Dr Filani stated that a critical appraisal of the factors affecting access to care in the state with special attention to maternal and child health outcomes would be comprehensively discussed and analysed.
According to him, the retreat would ensure a reset and stocktaking, review quality of care interventions in the state and evaluate the impacts and harness opportunity for improvement.
The Commissioner charged all participants to be attentive and develop actionable strategies and roadmaps to significantly scale up access and utilization of health care activities across the state.
He disclosed that the state government has made significant improvements and progress in the health sector of the state under the present Governor Biodun Oyebanji led Administration.
Filani disclosed that nine General Hospitals are currently under massive renovation and would be equipped with state of the art modern health equipment while Government had also procured new mammography machines at State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti
He noted that over 429,000 residents have accessed free health to care services through the state health insurance programme, adding the State has successfully managed diseases outbreak among other laudable achievements.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Human Services, Mrs Olusola Gbenga-Igotun noted that the retreat was timely and apt as it would help identify barriers to achieving state goals on improving health outcomes and proffer appropriate solutions to address them.
While making his presentation, the health consultant and a former Commissioner for Health in Ondo, Dr Dayo Adeyanju appreciated Ekiti State government for organizing such a retreat which he noted was timely and purposeful.
Dr Adeyanju who spoke on improving access and quality of health care services: The Ondo State Abiye Programme experience explained that the system eliminated all forms of delay associated with healthcare service delivery in the state.
The former Commissioner called on all care givers in Ekiti State to introduce human face in the discharge of their duties to connect the mothers and health seekers to the health facilities.
He called for legislation to sustain laudable government programmes in the health sector of the state.
Goodwill messages and presentations were made by the Permanent Secretary Hospitals Management Board, Dr Olasunkanmi Alabi, Director General SPHCDA Dr Ayodele Seluwa, General Manager, Ekiti State Health Insurance Scheme ,Dr Charles Doherty, General Manager, Drug and Commodities Supply Agency Pharm. Micheal Oyeniran, the Chief Medical Director, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital Prof Kayode Olabanji and the Director Planning Research and statistics MoH, Dr Sunday Omoya
Others who made presentations at the retreat were the representatives of development partners including the State Coordinator, WHO, Pharm.Akeem Busari, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) representative, Mr Babatunde Fagbemi, Director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (NOI) Poll Mr Peter Oshaji, Solina Health, Pharm. Zarariyau Haruna and State programme Manager, Excellence Community Education Welfare Scheme (ECWES), Dr Osilade Adewole .
Papers were presented on various areas such as increasing access and quality of health care delivery: State Health Insurance Scheme , State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Factors influencing the decline in the facility based delivery in Ekiti State, Surveillance and Health Security, Key Activities of Partners and Roles in Increasing Access and Quality of Health Care Services in Ekiti State among others.