By: Mukhtar Yahaya Shehu
The federal Ministry of Health has assured its commitments to strengthening Data system across the country for better healthcare.
The Assistant Chief Planning officer Monitoring and Evaluation Division, Department of health planning, Research and Statistics federal Ministry of Health and social welfare Mr. John Onyoha stated this at the Two day Capacity Building, workshop for state ministry of Health, state Primary Healthcare Management Board and coalition of civil society organizations, kanSLAM staff on using FASTR platform to Develop RMNCAH+N scorecard and Advocacy Brief in Kano.
Mr. John Onyoha said FASTR is the key to strengthening Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Health and Adolescent and Nutrition RMNCAH+N and Health system.
According to Mr. John Onyoha, the federal Ministry of Health and social welfare is ready to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to continue strengthning Data system for a better healthcare delivery across the country.
“We begin to translate into better decision making for strengthening not just RMNCAH but other health outcomes in the country.” Mr. John Onyoha added
Speaking earlier, the Director General state Primary Healthcare Management Board Professor Salisu Ahmad Ibrahim Commended the federal Ministry of Health and social welfare and EngenderHealth Consortium for organizing the workshop aimed to improve the Healthcare System in state.
Professor Salisu Ahmad Ibrahim pointed out that,Data is the way to make decisions, is the right way to go about all intervention and all programs not only at the state level but also at the federal Government level.
“The way how software has been position to align, most of the intervention and also give quick feedback, it is really a system we’re welcoming to the state,” DG said.
The Director General also thanked EngenderHealth that working with Kano state government for over the years for the improving health sector across the state.
In his opening remarks, the Country Director EngenderHealth Consortium Dr Kabir Atta said the federal government has established the Frequent Assessment and System Tool Resistance FASTR to use in generating a report on health sector particularly the global indicator as well as Regional indicator so as each state been measured with the system to understand.
The Country Director represented by Jumare Abdul’aziz said one of the important thing for the workshop is that, is generating reports from all levels, reports at the community level, report at the state, report from the Governors, commissioners and other Stakeholders within the state.
“We engaged 10 members from Kano state led Accountability and Mechanism kanSLAM to be part of the training so that to see our partners have the access on the RMNCAH scorecards to the Civil Society Organizations,” Jumare Abdul’aziz added.
The Country Director EngenderHealth further said the similar training took place last week in Logos state now this week in Kano state and the upper week will take place in Kaduna State with aim to support the state governments to reach out citizens led Accountability platform to advocate for more fund into the health sector to the Primary Healthcare Management Board, to the Drugs Management Agency and to all other health sector so as to improve health indicator.
During the training, goodwill massages came from the Representatives of state ministry of Health, Development Partners like SANDEF, kanSLAM among others.