Health Policy Plus (HP+) is a five-year project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by a consortium of partners, led by Palladium. HP+ provides technical assistance to governments, civil society, and the private sector to effectively engage in domestic resource mobilization, put in place sustainable financing and accountability mechanisms, and make progress toward universal health coverage goals.
On April 24, 2019 a team from USAID Nigeria led by the Health Finance Program Manager, Dr. Sylvester Akande (far left) visited Osun State and interacted with government officials, led by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Benedict Alabi (third from right) on the work of HP+ in the state. The visiting team was accompanied by the HP+ Country Director, Onoriode Ezire (far right). Here are the views of the visiting team, government officials and beneficiaries during the visit.
"Osun State has taken a very big leap: in 2018, the state allocation to health was 3% of total budget. In 2019, the allocation has jumped to 10%. Osun State has also pilot tested the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) and in doing so has enrolled about 14, 000 people. This is commendable. It is also commendable that Osun State has committed 1.4 billion naira to the revitalization of Primary Health Centers in the state."- Dr. Akande, USAID Nigeria.
"We thank USAID for being a partner that has been following our progress. The governor of Osun State has inaugurated a committee for the rehabilitation of 332 primary health centers, representing each of the 332 wards in the state. To ensure the effectiveness of this scheme, we're doing this work in phases of 100, which has commenced. This is to bring health care closer to our people."- Mr. Benedict Alabi (Deputy Governor)
“We appreciate the support of HP+ in providing us with training to do our work better. As members of Ward Development Committees (WDCs), this is something we’ve been looking forward to for a while. With our improved capacity, we now understand better our duty, and we have been working toward achieving the aim of the federal government in the actualization of the BHCPF.”- Muideen Salami Abiodun, WDC Chairman, PHC Isale Agbara
“Since our facility was renovated in 2018, community members have been trooping in and benefiting a lot, especially the pregnant women, children under 5, and the aged. The BHCPF intervention is a welcome idea. We have test run it with the support of the state government, though we discovered some challenges, which we are dealing with based on what we have learnt. Again, it will positively affect the local population, even those living outside the immediate locality because of the quality of care provided. We appreciate HP+ for giving us hands-on support to improve the facility’s services.” - Jabar Olufunmi Olaore (Principal Laboratory Technician)
“We’ve held several meetings with the community members about the imperative of living a healthy lifestyle. Members of the Ward Development Committee in attendance promised to inform their wives and children, which they did, because of the changes they see at the facility. The introduction of BHCPF would go a long way to improve the standards already set in terms of primary health care services. We thank HP+ for providing us with knowledge about quality improvement of the facility and supporting us to provide the basic minimum quality health services." - Samuel Olasoji Awofisoye (Senior Community Health Worker)
"Our work with HP+ has hastened our improvement, especially through trainings and technical support. The project has provided us with a road map of where we are and where we are going. We appreciate most especially the support we got from the project for community mobilization. This has injected a breath of new life to our facility."- Adedeji Janeth Olusayo, Officer-in-charge of PHC, Isale Agbara
"HP+ has hit the ground running by organizing training for members of the State Steering Committee on the BHCPF. It also organized training for relevant directors of State Primary Health Care Development Board and Osun Health Insurance Scheme on their roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the BHCPF." - Mr. Kayode Adegoke (Permanent Secretary, Osun State Ministry of Health)
"Our goal is to ensure one PHC per ward is operational and providing full complement of PHC services to every resident of the state toward achieving universal health coverage. We also want to reduce disease prevalence in Osun State, while also improving health outcomes for everyone, especially women and children."- Dr. Kayode Fabiyi (Executive Secretary, Osun State Primary Health Care Development Board)
"The State Health Insurance Agency is a veritable strategy for achieving universal health coverage. Through our agency, we're working to provide predictable financing and financial risk protection to residents of the state to reduce out-of-pocket payment and improve access to quality health services." - Dr. Niyi Oginni (Executive Secretary, Osun State Health Insurance Scheme)
