•FG, states, tackle medicare challenges at NCH confab

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

A few weeks ago, stakeholders in the health sector converged on Calabar, Cross River State, for the 66th National Council on Health (NCH) meeting with focus on “My Health, My Right: Accelerating Universal Health Coverage through Equity, Resilience, and Innovation.”

There were also sub-themes on sustainable health financing and domestic resource mobilization; and health workforce development and retention strategies.

A total of 1, 243 delegates participated from the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Ministry of Health, State Ministries of Health and Human Services and

Environment Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Abuja.

Others in attendance were State House of Assembly members, Development Partners drawn from the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Bank and Civi Society Organisations.

There were also delegates from the Health Regulatory Bodies, Professional Associations, the Nigerian Military, Medical Services of the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, Federal Road Safety Corps and other Para-Military Medical Corps amongst others.

Expectedly, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, provided leadership at the event, highlighting the importance of the event in the sustained drive for the achievement of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

During the opening ceremony, goodwill messages were delivered by the WHO Representative, Dr. Pavel Ursu; Fatima Hussaini Zanna, Co-chair of the Health Development Partner Group (DPG), on behalf of DPG; UNFPA Representative Francis Koessan; and Dr. Gafar Alawode (HERFON), representative of the Civil Society Organizations.

The 66th NCH was, however, preceded by a two-day technical session under the chairmanship of the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju, Kachollom. About 92 memoranda that comprises 47 from the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, 44 from the State Commissioners for Health, and FCT Mandate Secretary of Human Services and Environment and one from the Department of State Services (DSS) were considered during the technical session.

The UNFPA and UNICEF officials made presentations on the critical missing link in crashing maternal and neonatal mortality in Nigeria: and the high burden of health and nutrition, respectively.

Key health decisions at 66th NCN

Following extensive deliberations on all 92 memoranda, the NCH approved 20, noted 37, stepped down 27, and withdrew 8. The Council approved the adoption of the standard guidelines for state councils on health as the national reference document, and mandate all states and the FCT to align their operations and commence implementation within three months of Council approval.

The NCH in a unanimous decision adopted the “Guidelines for the Regular National Council on Health (NCH) Meeting, Revised Edition 2024” as the official procedural document, taking immediate effect for the preparation and conduct of all subsequent regular meetings.

The nationwide implementation of the Guidelines for Cervical Cancer Screening in Nigeria (2025) as the national framework for prevention, early detection and management of cervical cancer was also approved. It pushed for the implementation within six months with technical support from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and a subsequent reportage of progress at the NCH meeting.

NCH also approved the implementation of the maiden edition of the National Policy on Cosmetics Safety and Health and its Implementation Plan (2025) at all levels; and implementation of the maiden edition of the National Guideline for Sodium Reduction in all the States and the FCT; as well as the implementation of the National Guideline for Food Handlers’ Medical Test in all States of the Federation and the FCT.

It also approved the implementation of the National Chemical Events Surveillance in Nigeria (NGCES) and its implementation plan in all the States of the Federation and the FCT; the adoption and adaptation by states of the menu of options to ensure Health Sector Accountability Plans (HSAPs) are implementable, better positioning states to unlock the incentives under DLI 10 of the HOPE-PHC through a standardized scoring system.

Another key health decision at the 66th NCH was the approval for the lowering of the age for voluntary HIV/AIDS testing to 14 years with the condition that the testing adheres to age-appropriate guidelines, follows all necessary due process, includes adequate linkages to care (for positive cases), and is implemented in full compliance with extant laws in collaboration with the Attorney-General of the Federation; the institutionalization and domestic funding of the National Clinical Mentorship Programme (NCMP) within the national and state health systems, and encourage State Ministries of Health (SMoH) to integrate clinical mentorship activities into their annual operational plans and budgets.

Other approvals are for the implementation of the CEmONC-FTHIS program as a national strategy to reduce maternal and newborn death at the secondary health level, and encourage state ministries of health to domesticate and co-implement the initiative; operationalization and scale-up of the National Strategic Health Regulatory Initiatives (NSHRII) Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) plan by States, including the development and roll-out of capacity-building programmes for State EPR program and personnel.

NCH also encouraged the 36 States and FCT to continue the scale-up of Small Quantity Lipid- based Nutrient Supplements (SQ-LNS) interventions by allocating adequate budgetary resources for training at least two frontline officers per facility, using the SQ-LNS optimization tool for equitable allocation, and receive continuous technical support from the Nutrition Department of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).

The Council also adopted and institutionalized mandatory capacity development including re-certification on leadership, health systems strengthening and planning for mid-level managers at all levels of health, adopt a cost-efficient digital learning management platform for quality delivery, and integrate performance dialogues into monthly review platforms;

It noted the significance of Sudden Cardiac Arrest and the proposed National Community

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Initiative, and approved that States adopt and support its implementation, collaborate with partners to roll out CPR and Basic Life Support (BLS) training, establish CPR response teams, promote Automated External Defibrillator (AED) installation in public spaces, and have the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare designate a Desk Officer.

Additionally, the NCH noted the importance of the integration of medical oxygen gas piping system in the infrastructural architecture prerequisite for the establishment/construction of new hospitals, especially secondary and tertiary facilities; encouraged state tertiary health institutions to actively embrace the planned quality improvement programme in collaboration with NTHISC for national uniformity, and require all states and the FCT to fully support the timely registration and compliance of organ and tissue transplant facilities with NTHISC guidelines.

The Council also approved the formal adoption of Larval Source Management (LSM) as a key vector control strategy, approve the constitution of a Multisectoral LSM Technical Implementation Working Group, and a phased implementation plan including stakeholder engagement, a feasibility pilot, and the establishment of a robust Monitoring and Evaluatior Framework.

There was also an approval for the establishment of National Digital Health Architecture (NDHA) as the technical specification for the health information exchange and digital building blocks; establishment of a National Digital Health Transformation Office; and encouraged all LGAs, States, and the FCT to participate in the health data ecosystem and develop digital health assessments and action plans aligned with the NDHA; and also encouraged States to conduct their State Council on Health (SCH) meetings regularly.

Other activities at 66th NCN

Meanwhile, there were several engagements that took place earlier in the events. The Commissioner for Health, Cross River State, Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk, gave the welcome address. This was followed by the opening remarks delivered by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako.

A keynote presentation titled “Building Resilience for Disease Outbreak at the Sub-National Level” was delivered by Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi. This followed a presentation on “Nationwide Medical Outreach by MANSAG” delivered by Dr. Jideofor Menakaya, and another presentation on “Clinical Governance and Effective Service Delivery” by Professor Joseph Ana.

The 66th National Council on Health was formally declared open by the Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Peter Odey, who represented the Executive Governor of the State at the event, while the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju, Kachollom gave the vote of thanks.

The opening ceremony ended with the presentation of vehicles and medical equipment to the Cross River State Government by WHO. This was followed by a tour of the exhibition stand.

Meanwhile, the Director, Health Planning, Research and Statistics, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Kamil Shoretire, presented the status of implementation of the 65th NCH Resolutions

FCT, Sokoto, Taraba, Ekiti, Delta, Anambra and Plateau States were adjudged the best performing states, with regards to implementation of the 65th NCH Resolutions in the North Central, North West, North East, South West, South South and South East geopolitical zones, respectively.

NCH noted the poor level of implementation of previous NCH resolutions and challenges being faced in implementing them. It further urged all stakeholders to commit to implementing resolutions through quarterly monitoring of implementation to be coordinated by a Desk Officer in the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

The Council agreed to create a fora for regular communication from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on inter-ministerial interaction based on NCH Resolutions, while the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare would share the resolutions of the 66th NCH to all State Governors in order to improve the implementation of resolutions.

The proceedings and the status of the implementation of the 65th NCH were, however, adopted as amended by the Council. Members noted that the level of implementation of the resolutions of the previous NCH was below average and called on all Council members to ensure improved performance in implementing Council resolutions, going forward.

This would, expectedly, lead to improved health outcomes for the population and increase the effectiveness and relevance of the National.Council on Health. The National Population Commission disseminated the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) while the Chairman in Council launched four Policy documents namely: Knowledge Management Strategy for the Nigerian Health Sector (2026-2030); National Policy on Cosmetics Safety and Health and its Implementation Plan 2025; Nigerian Health Workforce Profile -2024; Health Policy Research: Preliminary Report of An Assessment on the Implementation of the 2019-2023 NCH Resolutions in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, it was decided that the 67th National Council on Health (NCH) will hold in Nasarawa State in 2026.