The Federal Government has commissioned a Joint Task Team of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and other related offences to improve preventive health and safeguard Nigeria’s investments in the health sector.
The Joint Task Team was primarily set up to conduct assessments of each quarterly disbursement of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) with the BHCPF secretariat serving as its secretariat.
The team is headed by the Director of Hospital Services, representing the ministry, and a Director of the ICPC, with membership drawn from relevant supervising offices and departments.
Speaking at the occasion, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, emphasised the mission of the team, which seeks to make a change from responding to wrongdoing after it occurs to identifying vulnerabilities early, closing regulatory gaps and strengthening systems before public resources are lost.
He also explained the importance of the Joint Task Team, stating that its role is to identify institutional vulnerabilities, strengthening preventive controls and improving oversite across the health sector.
The minister further disclosed that the Federal Government has deployed 774 performance and financial management officers across various local government areas to independently verify the receipt and utilization of funds.
The initiative is part of efforts to improve transparency and ensure that funds allocated to strengthen primary healthcare is utilized properly and properly accounted for, and used for its intended purpose.
According to Prof. Pate, “Every naira invested in our health system carries an obligation: to reach the facility, the health worker, and the Nigerian whose life depends on it. When those resources are diverted, the cost is not abstract. It is a medicine that never arrives, equipment that is unavailable when needed, or a service that falls short. In this sector, corruption can cost lives.
The ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, who was represented by the Executive Secretary of the commission, Mr Clifford Oparaodu, said the consequences of corruption in health sector extends beyond financial losses, as the misuse of resources may affect maternal or infant mortality, immunization rates, preventable diseases and access to affordable healthcare.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom, stated the importance of protecting health-sector, highlighting that it would save lives, reduce physical and financial pain of ill-health, and produce health for all Nigerians.
Prof. Pate restates government’s commitment to ensuring that every investment in health is protected, properly utilised and translated into better health outcomes for Nigerians.
