In a bid to reposition the health sector landscape in Nasarawa State through effective intra-sectoral coordination, which has been identified as a gap among health Ministry Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the Nasarawa State Ministry of Health in collaboration with DGI Consult hosted a 2-day retreat for the heads of the health agencies and institutions in Nasarawa State to foster coordination and collaboration for achieving the health sector priority objectives.

Group picture of participants

The 2-day retreat was attended by the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Heads of the different health agencies in Nasarawa State which include: (a) Nasarawa State Health Insurance Agency (NASHIA); (b) Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NAPHDA); (c) Nasarawa State Drugs Supply Management Agency (NASDSMA); (d) Nasarawa State Agency for Control of AIDS (NASACA); (e) Hospitals Management Board; (f) Nasarawa State Infectious Disease and Research Centre; Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital; College of Health Science and Technology; and College of Nursing Science.

In his opening remark, Nasarawa State Honourable Commissioner for Health Dr Gaza Gwamna acknowledged the gaps in intra-sectoral coordination, which has implication for achieving the health sector priorities to improve the health outcomes in Nasarawa State. He further highlighted the key health priorities of the state, which include: (a) effective health leadership and governance; (b) Improved financing for health; and (c) effective service delivery. He called for improved synergy among the health agencies to achieve the aforementioned health sector priorities.

Dr Gafar Alawode, Program Director, DGI Consult set the stage for the retreat with a plenary on an ideal health sector outlook through effective coordination where participants highlighted key expected outcomes which include: improved state health indices, improved financing for health, efficiency in resource utilization and equity in service delivery.

Through series of plenary sessions facilitated by Dr Gafar Alawode, participants identified effective mechanisms for promoting intra-sectoral coordination in the state. The retreat also involved capacity building component to deepen the knowledge of the heads of Agencies on the concept of leadership and its implication for achieving effective intra-sectoral coordination. The agencies were also acquainted on the modalities of organizing effective and issue-focused coordination meetings.

Ismail Abdulrazak, DGI Consult Program Officer presented key lessons from the ongoing organizational capacity strengthening for NASHIA and NAPHDA and key capacity gaps that have implications for promoting intra-sectoral coordination. During this session, participants identified the need for strengthening organizational capacity of all health MDAs in the state for optimal performance.

Through a group work session, participants developed a coordination framework for Nasarawa State and identify possible coordination challenges. The coordination framework clearly outlines the stakeholder’s groups to be coordinated, coordination structures, tools, immediate coordination output and impact.

DGI Consult will work with the Nasarawa State Ministry of Health to implement the recommendations from the retreat to further strengthen intra-sectoral coordination to achieve the health system objectives in Nasarawa State.