By Destiny Obinna
Sustained health budget tracking and stronger collaboration among the Lagos State Government, civil society and development partners are helping to improve maternal and child healthcare, nutrition and routine immunisation outcomes in the state.
Stakeholders made this known at a budget tracking and validation workshop in Lagos, where they reviewed the implementation of the state’s health budget and programmes supporting maternal and child health, nutrition and immunisation.
The review showed that about 6.5 per cent of the Lagos State budget was allocated to the health sector, while stakeholders highlighted the progress recorded through continued accountability and community-based interventions.
The two-day programme organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Health, with support from Save the Children International, is aimed at strengthening accountability and transparency in health financing through effective budget tracking and monitoring.
Speaking at the workshop, the Chairman, Public Health Sustainable Advocacy Initiative, PHSAI, Bar. Ayo Adebusoye, who represented civil society stakeholders, said Lagos had sustained its accountability mechanism for maternal, newborn and child health for about a decade.
He said the state had gradually taken ownership of initiatives initially supported by development partners, contributing to measurable improvements in healthcare delivery.
According to him, the process had helped the state record periods of zero stock-outs of essential lifesaving commodities.
“Lagos State has sustained this process and is actually owning and supporting it. Because of that, we are seeing some tangible and positive outcomes in the health sector,” he said.
Adebusoye said the continued tracking of health budgets and programmes had strengthened engagement between government and stakeholders, enabling them to identify gaps and develop solutions before the end of the budget year.
He noted that the state’s equity fund had risen to almost N3 billion, describing it as an important investment in expanding healthcare access for vulnerable residents.
He explained that the fund was established under the Lagos State Health Management Agency law to support healthcare for people who needed financial protection the most.
Adebusoye also called for continued attention to the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, saying effective coordination among the Federal Government, state government and other partners would help maximise its benefits.
He said sustained domestic financing would be increasingly important as development partners gradually reduced their support for health programmes.
Domestic funding key to sustainability
Also speaking, the Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, Save the Children, Dr. Itunu Dave-Agboola, said the workshop provided an opportunity to build on progress recorded in routine immunisation and strengthen domestic resource mobilisation.
She said the exercise would generate evidence for constructive engagement with government on increased funding for routine immunisation.
“We have realised that there is a need for domestic resource mobilisation, given the fact that donor funds are shrinking and donors are pulling out,” Dave-Agboola said.
She said Nigeria’s transition towards greater domestic financing of vaccines presented an opportunity for governments to strengthen ownership and sustainability of immunisation programmes.
Dave-Agboola said the workshop would produce a scorecard showing allocations, releases and utilisation for healthcare services and routine immunisation.
She noted that although the Abuja Declaration recommends 15 per cent of national expenditure for health, Lagos State had allocated 6.5 per cent to the sector.
She added that increased investment in health workers, including improved remuneration, housing opportunities, hazard allowances and other incentives, would help retain skilled personnel and improve patient care.
Zero-dose children declining
Dave-Agboola disclosed that interventions targeting zero-dose children in Alimosho and Ikorodu local government areas had produced significant improvements in immunisation coverage.
She said Ikorodu had recorded a significant reduction in the number of zero-dose children, while more children were being reached with lifesaving vaccines.
She attributed the progress to community-based interventions, including outreach immunisation services, engagement of traditional and religious leaders, community health volunteers and social and behavioural change communication.
“Health workers no longer just sit in the health post waiting for people to come. They now go to the communities with their vaccines,” she said.
She added that 50 health facilities, 25 each in Alimosho and Ikorodu, were being supported through training, mentorship and the provision of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) kits.
Dave-Agboola said religious and traditional leaders had also become important partners in addressing vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.
“We engage the community leaders and traditional rulers. We enlighten them about immunisation, the benefits, and we dispel the myths and misconceptions,” she said.
Budget tracking strengthens accountability
On the government side, Mr Basit Baruwa, Director of Statistics and Chairman of the Evidence Committee, said the budget performance workshop was a regular exercise designed to track the implementation of health projects across ministries, departments and agencies.
He said budget officers from various MDAs and allied agencies were invited to present evidence of achievements against their plans up to June.
According to him, the exercise enabled stakeholders to identify areas requiring additional attention and develop recommendations for improved performance.
“The issue around releases came out as a critical issue. In the first two quarters of the year, a lot of the MDAs were unable to access their funds. There were no releases and that affected some of the outcomes that we tracked today,” Baruwa said.
He said the government would continue to work with stakeholders to ensure timely release of funds and enable programmes to achieve their objectives before the end of the year.
Baruwa said the performance review showed mixed results across programmes, with some performing above average and others requiring further support.
He identified nutrition and the Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) programme as areas that would benefit from increased attention and funding.
He explained that MPDSR was important because it enabled health authorities to examine maternal and child deaths, identify their causes and use the findings to prevent avoidable deaths.
The stakeholders commended Lagos State for sustaining health budget tracking and called for stronger domestic financing, timely release of approved funds and continued collaboration to consolidate gains in maternal and child health, nutrition and immunisation.
