By Yetunde Fatungase
The Ogun Government says that its projection is to ensure that no less than 75 per cent of its health programmes are implemented in 2023.
It also pledged its commitment toward making health care accessible to all residents in the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, said this at the opening of a five-day workshop on the Development of the Annual Operational Plan (AOP) for the Health Sector.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme was organised by the state government in conjunction with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ijebu-Ode.
Coker said that the Gov. Dapo Abiodun-led administration in the state had identified planning as necessary in addressing the gaps in the health needs of the people.
According to her, the adoption of the planning strategy has led to unprecedented achievements in the state’s health AOPs in 2021 and 2022.
She stated that the state had been able to attain some milestones through the previous AOPs, which served as the guiding light for activities and interventions in government health agencies, health facilities and development partners.
The commissioner, however, advocated “smart planning” for better implementation of the 2023 AOP in the sector.
Coker called on the various stakeholders at the workshop to plan realistically, saying that Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officers would scale up the projected implementation status of the new plan.
Earlier, the Director of Health, Planning, Research and Statistics in the ministry, Dr Kayode Kushimo, commended the commissioner for her sterling leadership, which he said brought about the development of AOP in 2020 to the sector.
He assured the commissioner that the 2023 development plan would further consolidate on the achievements of the previous ones, without dropping the ball.
On her part, the Representative of UNICEF, Mrs Florence Moloku, expressed delight with the state government for committing its resources to the development of the annual plans.
Moloku attributed the series of awards and laurels being won by the state government in the sector to its huge financial commitment to such programmes. (NAN)
