The Nigerian government is set to establish another agency that will be responsible for regulating healthcare facilities in the country.
This contradicts President Bola Tinubu's recent directive on the implementation of the Stephen Oronsaye Presidential Committee's project on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatal Enterprises, Commissions and Agencies.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa, on Wednesday inaugurated a committee tasked with establishing the National Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (NHFRA), described as part of efforts to improve healthcare services across the country.
The agency, according to the minister, will serve as a regulatory body for health facilities, ensuring that citizens receive the highest level of care.
The new development may have called into question the Tinubu-led administration’s commitment to carry out the much-hyped harmonisation of MDAs, announced earlier this year.
As part of efforts to implement the report, the President created an eight-member committee and gave it a 12-week deadline to ensure the legislative amendments and administrative restructuring necessary for effective implementation.
Members of the committee include the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; the former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu; and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi, among others.
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However, while it is not clear whether the committee has yet submitted its report, the new action by the Ministry of Health indicates a lack of commitment by the government to calls for reduced governance costs by many Nigerians.
New committee
Speaking at the inauguration of the committee in Abuja on Wednesday, Mr Alausa said it will be chaired by Richard Ajayi, an expert whose profile details could not be obtained as at the time of filing this report.
Also on the list are the current Commissioner for Health in Ogun State, Tomi Coker, and others including Ajibike Oyewumi, Manason Garkuwa, Aminat El-Imam, Abubakar Kullima, Damilola Matti, Njide Ndili and Tosin Runsewe.
Others are: Omede Idris, Iseko Iseko, I. Anukwu, Adebimpe Adebajo, Ndagi Aljassan, Jimoh Saludeen, Kamil Shoretire, Mariya Saleh and Benson Cole.
The Minister explained that, given the need for a robust regulatory framework, the committee's mandate is multifaceted and crucial.
Mandate
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa (PHOTO CREDIT: @DrTunjiAlausa)
Mr. Alausa said the agency being planned was of utmost importance given that health centers are the front line in the battle against disease, “as well as the sanctuary where life begins and is often saved.”
The minister said one topic area of the committee was the creation of a governance model and structure, describing it as the first step in designing the NHFRA's organisational structure.
Creation of a legislative framework, operational guidelines, stakeholder engagement and resource mobilization are some of the committee's core mandates, according to the minister.
He urged the committee members to make a lasting impact on the country’s healthcare system through the establishment of the NHFRA.
He said the agency will be a cornerstone in the government's effort to ensure that every health facility in the country operates with the highest standards of safety and quality.
The Minister said: “It is the Government’s duty to ensure that these institutions operate to the highest possible standards, providing care that is not only appropriate, but exemplary and ethical.
“The formation of this committee is a testament to the dedication of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to this cause. We know that effective regulation is the foundation of a safe, efficient and equitable healthcare system.”
Model
Mr Alausa said the country is drawing inspiration from global best practices available from the UK's Care Quality Commission (CQC).
He said the commission has set a gold standard for healthcare regulation by improving transparency and accountability through comprehensive inspections and ratings of health and social care services.
Nigeria, he said, is on track to replicate such high standards for its health system.
Poor sanitary facilities
Nigeria’s health system faces a number of challenges, part of which is poor service delivery in many healthcare facilities.
In many cases, service delivery at medical facilities, particularly primary health care (PHC) centres, is poor, resulting in substandard health care delivery.
This is partly responsible for the country's poor health indices.
According to the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), poor care delivery contributes to the prevalence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) that the country is currently facing.
The agency said treating the burden of healthcare-associated infections accounted for 3.8 percent of total healthcare spending in the health sector in 2023.
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HAIs are infections that patients acquire while receiving treatment for medical or surgical conditions within a healthcare setting.
The agency noted that people seeking medical care are also highly prone to contracting healthcare-associated infections in hospitals and primary health centres due to low levels of prevention and control in hospitals.