The Ogun Government has identified quality data collection as tool for proper planning and implementation of the present administration’s vision of turning around the health sector.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, said this on Monday in Abeokuta while declaring open a five-day Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Capacity Building Workshop for directors, coordinators and M&E officers of the various state government health agencies.
Coker, who said that the state government prioritised proper planning and effective implementation of health interventions, recalled that the Ministry of Health launched the 2021 Annual Operational Plan (AOP) and its first ever M&E plan in December 2020.
She said the workshop was to build the capacity of M&E officers and other stakeholders to further help policymakers in building robust and useful health data, expected to translate to informed decisions on healthcare interventions.
She added that “the Ogun Ministry of Health understands that it is imperative to have a coordinated approach toward achieving the state government’s objectives in the health sector.
“The present administration envisioned a health sector that would aid reduction in maternal and infant mortality and increase life expectancy.
“We hope to achieve this by carefully using quality data to allocate resources appropriately for sustainable impact and outcomes. This training is crucial to further achieve these goals.”
The commissioner added that capacity building would help state health officials to better understand the M&E Plan and improve the quality of health data available for informed decision making.
The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Adesanya Ayinde, said the workshop was the first in the history of the state.
Represented by Dr Kayode Kushimo, the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics in the ministry, the permanent secretary expressed optimism that the health system would further be improved in the process.
He urged participants to see the training as an opportunity to contribute their quota to improving the state’s health sector.
Participants were drawn from hospitals and the different health-related organisations operating in the state. (NAN)
