Officials of the Delta State Ministry of Health and its parastatals have been charged to take ownership of health programmes and policies introduced by the Federal Government and health development partners aimed at the improvement of the health system in the State.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Kingsley Emu gave the charge on Wednesday in Asaba during a stakeholders meeting comprising representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children Education Fund, (UNICEF) and officials of the Ministry of Health, convened to facilitate the development of the 2025 Annual Operational Plan (AOP) for the State Ministry of Health.
The SSG charged the officials of the Ministry to work closely with the WHO, UNICEF, and the Federal Ministry of Health, especially with regards to the New Health Sector Strategic Blueprint for States in the Federation.
Dr. Emu said that commitment on the side of the officials of the Ministry is key to the actualization of the goals set out by the State and that they should also ensure that national health policies and programmes are domesticated.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Onojaeme assured of the readiness on the side of the State Officials to collaborate with donor partners to ensure that the health indices as concerns the State improved tremendously.
Earlier, the WHO State Coordinator and Technical Assistant, Dr. Faith Ireye charged the State to take the lead in the State Wide Approach Plan (SWAP) of the Health Sector Strategy Blueprint (HSSB), which will provide a cohesive framework for health sector development in Delta State.
She called on the State government to properly allocate its scarce resources to the most important health challenges marked as peculiar to the State and appealed to the State government to make needed funds available for them and to effectively utilize the current World Bank fund for the new Health Sector Strategic Blueprint of 2023-2027.
Also, in his presentation, the UNICEF Technical Assistant, Dr. Chike Nwanliwor said the World Bank Assisted HSSB would transform the state health sector, guide resource allocation and investment on health, improve access to affordable and quality health care services, strengthen health care governance as well as community engagement among other benefits.
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