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Report of the Presentation/Launching of the Nigerian Health Review (NHR2007) Read... |  |
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HERFON’S SOUTH WEST ZONAL CHAIRPERSON RESIGNS
We wish to bring to the notice of all members and stakeholders in HERFON, the resignation of Mrs. Yemi Olukoya, HERFON Zonal Chairperson for South West Zone.
In a message to the Executive Secretary of HERFON, Mrs. Olukoya said ”As a follow-up to the recent developments in S/W zone, I wish to STEP DOWN as the CHAIRPERSON with immediate effect”
As the HERFON family tries to come to terms with this development, the Executive Secretary, on behalf of the Board, Management and members, thanks Mrs. Olukoya for her contributions and wishes her every success in her endeavours.
Mrs. Olukoya’s last major assignment as the Zonal Chairperson was her participation in HERFON’s ‘Workshop on Leadership and Resource Mobilisation’ for HERFON’s Zonal and State Chairpersons and Secretaries from the South West Zone, held 7-10 July 2008, in Ibadan.
Once more, Mrs. Olukoya is wished all the best in her endeavours, while her contributions to HERFON are appreciated.
The formal presentation/launching of the 2nd edition of the Nigerian Health Review (NHR2007) took place at Rock view Hotels in Abuja on 24 April, 2008. The launch was chaired by Dr. Shehu Mahdi, former Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA); who in his speech congratulated and commended Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON) in its effort to better the lives of all Nigeria through Advocacy for Health Sector Reform in the Country.
In his welcome address, the Chairman Board of Trustee, HERFON, HRH Dr. Halilu Yahaya, OON, Emir of Shonga welcomed everybody in attendance and urged them to contribute their quota to ensure better health for all Nigerians.
The focus of NHR2007 is Primary Health Care (PHC) in Nigeria: 30 years after Alma Ata. The book is spread over 319 pages of publication, has 15 chapters, and covers such issues as the historical review of the major milestones in the development of PHC in Nigeria from the pre-colonial period to the recent attempts at health reforms; overview of the essential concepts and features of PHC and a review of the major challenges confronting and constraining its implementation in Nigeria; and analyses of the social, cultural, economic and political issues which affect the functioning and performance of PHC in Nigeria and suggests measures for bringing about change and improvement.
It also x-rays the challenges presented by human, financial and material resource constraints; weaknesses and deficiencies in specific elements of PHC including services for women and children are examined in several chapters; role of important stakeholders in achieving national PHC objectives; and vital managerial issues which must be confronted if equity, effectiveness and efficiency are to be achieved in the provision of PHC in Nigeria. This publication is an interesting voyage into the challenges confronting PHC in Nigeria.
In his presentation, the Chairman of Review Advisory Committee (RAC), Professor Adetokunbo Lucas x-rayed the challenges facing PHC in Nigeria and called on all stakeholders to ensure that PHC delivers as expected. According to him, the available health indices show that country’s health Sector is not performing well despite the huge sum of money going into it. He called on Government to be transparent in its reform agenda.
In his speech at the occasion, the supervising Honorable Minister of Health, Dr. Hassan Muhamed Lawal represented by the Acting Permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Shehu Sule, mni; explained the 7-point Agenda of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua which recognizes education and health as the twin engine for developing the human capital required for the attainment of rapid economic growth and social development such that Nigeria will be among the leading 20 national economies in the world, by the year 2020.
The Minister commended HERFON for its numerous contributions to Nigeria’s Health sector Reform Programme and health development generally. He emphasized that for the health sector to contribute its own quota credibly to the realization of MDGs, we must have more effective and responsive PHC services.
Presenting the book, the Chief launcher Dr. Dapo Majekodunmi, Medical Director, St. Nicholas Hospital Lagos, represented by Dr. Olusegun Fadiran urged every body and institution to have a copy of NHR-2007 to enrich their knowledge and widen their scope.
Goodwill messages were received from representatives of Partners, Organizations and Individuals, including Jane Miller, Senior Health Adviser, DFID; Dr. Ebun Sonaiya, Chairman, Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria (HMCAN), Hajiya Bilkisi, Executive Director Advocacy Nigeria; and Dr. SA Kuranga, Chairman, Committee of CMDs of Federal Tertiary Health Institutions and CMDs Unilorin Teaching Hospital Ilorin, represented by Dr. A B Abimiku.
Professor Dora Akunyili, Director General of NAFDAC and member Board of Trustee of HERFON commended HERFON for the comprehensive document on Primary Health Care in Nigeria and urged everybody to insist on good health which she said is our right as citizens. She was accompanied to the launch the Director of Food Protection Agency Ghana, who also commended HERFON for its commitment and promised to take the comprehensive document to enrich the Ghanaian health system
In his vote of thanks, the Executive Secretary of HERFON Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe explained that HERFON is committed to delivering on its mandate despite all odds. He requested all Stakeholders to put in their best to ensure adequate and affordable Health Care services for all Nigerians.
HERFON Visits President Yar’adua, Dialogues With Health Minister
- Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje
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A delegation of the Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON) visited His Excellency Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; on Thursday, 24 January 2008. The visit was part of HERFON’s advocacy engagements for the strengthening of the country’s Health Sector Reform Programme (HSRP), and how HERFON and its partners/funders can support the government of Nigeria to achieve the country’s health care and poverty reduction objective and targets, including the health related Millennium Development Goals (HMDGs).
The delegation was received by Professor Adenike Grange, Nigeria’s Honourable Minister of Health, at the instance of President Yar’Adua, who was on an official engagement outside the country. Speaking on behalf of the President, Professor Grange expressed Federal Government’s gladness in receiving the delegation. “HERFON is now popular” she said, adding that the Foundation has the capacity to give leadership to the country’s private sector to partner with the public sector to improve the country’s health care and development indices. She said that she was extremely glad that HERFON has taken cognizance of the government’s health priorities and positioned itself in that direction.
Continuing, the Minister declared that government needs HERFON to bridge the health gap and minimize deficiencies within the sector. She averred that the Ministry’s leadership will seek further dialogue with the Foundation to integrate her recommendations into the Ministry’s activities. She conveyed President Yar’Adua’s wishes of more hard work to HERFON, while saying that the President will like to be regularly briefed on HERFON’s progress on its mandate, increased collaboration and improved relationship with the Federal Ministry of Health.
Earlier in his address, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees [BOT] of HERFON, His Royal Highness Dr. Haliru Yahaya (Emir of Shonga), expressed the Foundation’s appreciation of the Federal Government’s effort at streamlining the country’s health policy and planning in the last four years, which has yielded several tools and documents including the Revised National Health Policy, The National Health Sector Reform Programme, Presidential Blueprint on Health-MDGs, Blueprint on Primary Health Care and many other programmes –specific policies and strategic plans. HRH Dr. Yahaya advised that it is high time the government shifted emphases to the IMPLEMENTATION of these existing strategies and interventions which have proved effective in impacting positively on the health of people seen other lands
He presented copies of HERFON’s publications to the President, and requested him to consider for implementation, the recommendations of the 2006 National Health Conference, by:
| 1 | Ensuring the approval and signing-into-law of the National Health Bill without further delay |
| 2 | Implement the universally agreed budget allocation of not less than 15% of the total annual budget to health by all levels of government in Nigeria |
| 3 | Taking measures to drastically reduce the current very high and unacceptable deaths of Women and Children due to poor health care services, and |
| 4 | Irrevocably strengthening Nigeria’s current Health Sector Reform Programme |
He advised that States have no need to strive to provide tertiary health in any part of this country. “We support the primary health care fund as provided in the national Health Bill now in the National Assembly, and fully agree with your Excellency’s recent statement that primary health care should be owned by all tiers of government”, adding that President Yar’Adua’s position reaffirms HERFON’s 2008-2012 strategic plan which focuses on primary health care.
The HERFON leaders emphasized the need to restructure the FMoH toward more effective functionality in order to deliver its mandate, with the inclusion/articulation of the needs of States and Local Governments. “Your Excellency’s government is requested to lead advocacy to States and LGAs to enhance resource allocation to primary health care, in order to get it working better”, the BOT Chairman said..
He suggested that the government revisits the National Health Policy and urgently review the Health Sector Reform Programme (HSRP) to reduce our country’s burden of disease, with special attention to Integrated Maternal and Neonatal Child Health (IMNCH); which should be provided as part of a guaranteed minimum package of health care for all Nigerians. “In particular, we urge that the review of the HSRP be geared towards the effective implementation of existing policies, in addition to a deliberate long-term approach to the National Health Investment Plan (NHIP). We are of the opinion that the National Primary Health care Development Agency (NPHCDA) needs to be strengthened in order to accomplish the above”, the Board chairman added.
HRH Dr. Yahaya used the occasion to condole President and Commander-in-Chief on the death of Hon. Dr. Aminu Safana who served the President during his days as Governor of Katsina State, and who until his death on active duty, was a member of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the House’s Committee on Health. He expressed the hope that President Yar’Adua will honour the Nigerian health sector with his physical presence at the 2008 National Health Conference which holds later this year.
The delegation later went into a closed door meeting with the Honourable Minister of health and officials of the Ministry, during which issues necessary to move the HSRP further ahead, were discussed.
Other members of the BOT who were present in the delegation were Dr. Oladipupo Awosika, Ambassador Mustafa Sam, Dr. Ben Anyene, Hajiya Bilkisu Yusuf (mni), Professor Mildred Amakiri, MFR, and Dr. Shehu Sule, (mni. Other persons in the HERFON delegation were Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe - Executive Secretary and Secretary to the Board, Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje – Advocacy and Communications Manager, and Dr. Ahmed Gana – Projects and Capacity Development Manager.
Download full speech by HERFON Board Chairman (pdf, 43.4k)WATCH HERFON'S SEGMENT DURING 'HEALTH REPORT' ON 'NTA' NETWORK AND INTERNATIONAL BELT EVERY THURSDAY
HERFON’s 5-year Strategic Plan for 2008-2012 aims to move the Foundation from being a donor-financed project to a dynamic, national non-governmental organisation and advocate for health sector reform (HSR) in Nigeria. As contained in our business plan, the media is seen as a staunch partner of HERFON.
The Foundation is therefore stepping up media activities to provide valuable information on the health sector, and publicity for its activities and events and issues around HSR. In line with two of the seven strategic trusts ofNigeria’s Health Sector Reform Programme [HSRP], this is aimed at improving consumers’ awareness and community involvement; and promoting effective partnership, collaboration and coordination.
In addressing the aforementioned media angle, the 2008 work plan includes a TV broadcasts to inform, educate and mobilize members, government and non-government stakeholders and the general public on Health and HSR issues, and HERFON’s activities at international/national/zonal/states levels. It will studiously communicate HERFON, Health Sector Reform (HSR) and Health to stakeholders, in order to letting members know what HERFON is doing, and vice versa.
I am pleased to inform you that arrangements have been concluded for a HERFON-supported weekly TV broadcast on the networks of local and international belts of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA); which will serve to promote public health issues, especially from Health Sector Reform perspectives, while setting agenda for health policies and programmes and their effective implementation in the country.
HERFON shall recommend topics to be discussed on the programme and mobilize/recommend/provide resource persons for ten minutes of each episode of ‘Health Report’ on NTA (live and recorded). This programme shall be broadcast on NTA network by 9.00 am every Thursday for twenty-six weeks [February – July 2008]. This segment shall be used to brand HERFON for greater visibility, and serve the purpose for which the Foundation was established, to promote better health for all Nigerians.
Topics of weekly focus shall include the following:
- 1. HERFON, its mandate and products
- 2. Stewardship in Health
- 3. Research in Health
- 4. Primary Health Care
- 5. Advocacy for Health
- 6. Immunsation and Child Health
- 7. Health Financing
- 8. Managing Donor Resources within the Health Sector
- 9. Partnership for Health/PPP
- 10. Maternal Health
- 11. Health Services: providing effective care and creating demand for services
- 12. Human Resources for Health
- 13. Health Promotion and Diseases Control
We invite you to watch this programme and avail us of your valued opinions/views/comments.
Better Health for All,
Uzo’
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Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje
Advocacy & Communications Manager/HIVAIDS Adviser
Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria [HERFON]
Tel: 09.4618496
Mob: 0803.4725905
Fax: 09.5240433
Eml: uaadirieje@yahoo.com, uadirieje@herfon.org
Web: www.herfon.org, www.ngnhc.org
HERFON Joins 'HINARI' (Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has formally admitted the Health reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON) as an institutional member of the Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI).
HINARI is a public-private partnership sponsored by the WHO to provide free or very low cost online access to the major journals in biomedical and related social sciences to local, not-for-profit institutions in developing countries. Each partner is responsible for a different aspect of HINARI. The partners meet at regular intervals to determine how the programme works and develops. Feedback from the participating institutions contributes significantly to the development of the programme.
Launched in January 2002, HINARI provides access to some 1500 journals from 6 major publishers including Blackwell, Elsevier Science, the Harcourt Worldwide STM Group, Wolters Kluwer International Health & Science, Springer Verlag and John Wiley, following the principles in a Statement of Intent signed in July 2001. Twenty-two additional publishers joined in May 2002, bringing the total number of journals to over 2000. Since that time, the numbers of participating publishers and of journals and other full-text resources has grown continuously. Today more than 70 publishers are offering their content in HINARI and others will soon be joining the programme. An evaluation is in progress which will determine the long term future of HINARI.
In conveying HERFON’s admission to the Executive Secretary Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, the WHO had said “we are pleased to welcome your institution to the Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI). Through this initiative … your institution will have access to one of the world's largest collections of biomedical literature, offered by the leading biomedical publishers”.
The HINARI access is domiciled in the HERFON’s Resource Centre Library, and registered users of the library can access it by contacting the librarian while ‘onsite’ in the library.
HERFON is grateful to the WHO and its HINARI Team for this admission, and looks forward to more cooperation in order to push Nigeria’s Health Sector Reform Programme [HSRP] forward, and achieve the country’s MDG objectives.
Contact uadirieje @ herfon.org and cc uaadirieje @ yahoo.com if you have further enquiries about this service.
One-Day Meeting of Heads of Health NGOs in Kano on “2007 and Health Sector”
The meeting of Heads of Health NGOs in Kano was convened by Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR) on Tuesday, 10th April 2007 at the Multipurpose Hall of British Council between 1:00 – 5:30 PM. It had the attendance of 15 leading Health NGOs in Kano State.
Download detailed Press Release here (pdf)
HERFON… Key Stakeholder in Nigeria’s Health Reform Process – Minister
Nigeria’s Health Minister Professor Eyitayo Lambo on Thursday 11 January 2007 described the Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON) as a “key stakeholder in (Nigeria’s health) reform process”.
In his address at the 50th National Council on Health [NCH] held at Sheraton hotel and towers, Abuja, he acknowledged and appreciated the contributions of ‘products’ of the DFID – funded Health Sector Reform Change Agent Programme (CAP) and the Health Reform Foundation (HERFON) “to the achievements that we have highlighted earlier on (and) for being key stakeholders in the reform process.”
The National Council on Health is the annual meeting of the Minister(s) of Health, the Commissioners for health in the thirty-six States (36) of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory’s Secretary of Health, with all their permanent secretaries and directors and parastatal in attendance. It is the highest policy-making body for health in Nigeria.
The 50th session is running for 8-12 January 2007. All the States of the federation and the FCT are participating. The 49th NCH was held in Jalingo, Taraba State in 2006
Download the Ministers Speech here..
Workshop Organised To Support Ward Health System
As part of efforts towards supporting and strengthening sustainable Routine Immunization (RI) activities/programmes in communities and States in Nigeria, the European Union Partnership to Reinforce Immunization Efficiency (EU-PRIME’s) organised a one day briefing workshop on “EU- Support to Ward Health System (EU-SWHeS)”.
EU-SWHeS is one of the outcomes developed by Change Agents as lessons learnt from participating in an international study tour programmes to Tanzania and Zambia organised by the Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON).
This new initiative (EU-SWHeS) was studied and recommended by Change Agents as another means of strengthening community involvement and ownership in RI activities in the six EU-PRIME focal States (Abia, Cross River, Plateau, Gombe, Osun and Kebbi States) using the Ward Health Development System.
The workshop which took place on Monday 08 January 2007 at Chelsea Hotel Abuja was attended by participants from Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), National Programme on Immunization (NPI), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Change Agents, States Consultants and HERFON. Its objectives were
- To acquaint, brief and share opinions of EU SWHeS components and implementation strategies with key RI Stakeholders, Partners, health consultants and other health players.
- To deliberate and clarify modalities of operationalising the project and its implementation (welcome inputs on the various assessment tools developed to undertake a baseline study of the project). These include:
- Terms of Reference
- Criteria for LG Assessment and Selection
- Review Check list for committees
- Agenda for Assessment