By John Unwaba
Benue State is moving to reduce its dependence on donor funding for healthcare as declining external support threatens the sustainability of health programmes across the state.
The government has consequently intensified efforts to mobilise more domestic resources for the health sector, with stakeholders reviewing new financing options to ensure that essential health services and gains achieved through years of partner support are sustained.
The push formed the focus of a meeting of the Benue State Health Domestic Resource Mobilisation Technical Working Group (TWG) in Makurdi.
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Paul Ogwuche, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Cephas Hough, said the state must develop the capacity to independently finance its health priorities.
“We must strengthen our capacity to finance and sustain our health priorities.”
Ogwuche said sustainable healthcare financing would require stronger planning, budgeting, financial management, accountability, monitoring and evaluation.
He stressed that beyond increasing funding, government must ensure that available resources are efficiently deployed and produce measurable improvements in health outcomes.
“Every Naira invested in healthcare must produce measurable benefits for the people.”
According to him, the Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia administration has demonstrated commitment to transforming the health sector through investments in infrastructure, medical equipment, primary healthcare facilities and human resources.
He said the next challenge was to expand the funding base while strengthening accountability and efficiency across the health system.
Donor transition raises sustainability concerns
Also speaking, the Programme Manager of the Benue State AIDS Control Agency, Mr. Terna Akpaiyo, said stronger domestic financing had become critical to protecting gains made through years of donor-supported HIV/AIDS interventions.
He described domestic resource mobilisation as more than a funding issue, saying it was also a question of governance, ownership and long-term development.
“Domestic resource mobilisation is not just a financial issue; it is a governance and development issue that requires sustained commitment from all stakeholders.”
Akpaiyo stressed the need for the state to take greater ownership of health programmes as external financing declines.
The transition, he said, makes it increasingly important for government to identify sustainable local funding sources capable of maintaining critical interventions.
Beyond government funding
He said government alone could not finance and deliver every aspect of healthcare, calling for stronger collaboration with the private sector, development partners, civil society organisations, professional associations, communities and faith-based organisations.
He described the TWG as a platform for developing practical financing strategies and building partnerships capable of expanding the resources available to the health sector.
The meeting reviewed the performance of the state’s health-sector budget, existing financing gaps, health insurance enrolment and disbursement challenges, as well as opportunities for greater private-sector participation.
Stakeholders also examined ways of improving financial management and ensuring that funds allocated to healthcare reach priority areas.
For Benue, the emerging financing strategy is aimed not merely at replacing declining donor resources, but at building a health system that can sustain essential services through stronger domestic
