W/Bank ejects $171.5m into Nigeria Health Investment Project

The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole has commended the World Bank for injecting the sum of $171.5 million into the Nigeria Health Investment Project (NSHIP) strengthen Performance Based Financing (PBF) system across Primary and Secondary Health facilities in the Pilot states of Adamawa, Nassarawa and Ondo since 2011.
He also said, the extension of Additional Financing/Nigeria Health Investment Project (AF-NSHIP) in five north east states of Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Taraba and Gombe in the 2017 intervention programme was inline with President Muhammadu Buhari’s mandate to rehabilitate and restore health service delivery system, considering the growing challenges of insecurity posed by insurgency and other health needs faced in the region.
The Minister stated this yesterday during flagging off of a 2- Day 2017 Mid-Term Review Meeting, MTR to measure the impact that NSHIP has over the life span of the project which took place at Nigeria Airforce Base Conference Centre and Suite in Abuja.
Professor Adewole while declaring the meeting open, urges other state governors to emulate the tremendous innovations of the health sector in Adamawa, Nassarawa, Ondo which were the three pilot states and by extension the Five AF -North East states key into the NSHIP, rather than depending on Development Partners.
He said: ” I want commend the World Bank and the Federal Government implementing NSHIP which is a strictly on Performance Based Financing (PBF) approach which has improved Healthcare service in the project states of Adamawa, Nassarawa and Ondo. I am also delighted to see that the AF-NSHIP, which is a flashy project in other North East States of Borno, Taraba, Bauchi, Yobe among others have started to yield positive results in their health sector.
“It is my hope and believe that very soon, I will drive the Executive Director NPHCDA to the Nigeria Governors Forum to key into this Project, as it will enhance transparency of resources, strengthen accountability at the Primary and Secondary level through qualitative and quantitative Health System in Nigeria and ensure effective participation of communities at the grassroots”. The Minister said.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Executive Director NPHCDA, Dr. Shuaibu recalled that the traditional input financing in Nigeria has translated into very slow progress in the improvement of Health indices with little advances in service delivery and no increase in accountability of providers and users, but with adoption of NSHIP with support from World Bank, there is increasing evidence of positive impact of PBF on health system performance, provider behaviour and quality of care with improve safe delivery and reduction of maternal mortality.