Partners in Progress

It’s that time when the year-end fatigue and jadedness start to set in for many, not for me though. The healthcare development community hardly gets any breaks and I have personally been up to a lot recently.

In the first week of December, I was invited by Africa Resource Center for Excellence in Supply Chain Management (ARC_ESM) to speak at its 3rd Leadership Breakfast meeting on what I consider the next phase of the partnership between States and Nigerian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers under the aegis of PMG-MAN.

I recall some time in 2017, I wrote the concept note and developed a plan for a nationwide drug procurement system that will guarantee price stability and ensure high-quality and affordable commodities are constantly available in public facilities in Nigeria. It was a great idea but it was ahead of its time. I say it was ahead of its time because it was immensely opposed for reasons that I considered unimportant when compared to the benefits of the initiative if implemented. ?The opposition was so much that I decided to let it go for "world peace". Thankfully, a dear friend ( Azuka Okeke ) who worked on the initiative with me, followed through with the idea and sold it to Yobe State. The rest they say, is history!

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Today, six States in Nigeria have adopted this plan and can currently boast that more than 68% of public facilities in these States have a guaranteed supply of good quality and affordable medicines. The CEO Fidson Healthcare Plc , Dr Fidelis Ayebae, mentioned that the participating pharmaceutical companies had seen a 5% increase in their revenue resulting from the partnership. Talk about improving healthcare and growing the economy simultaneously! It is only reasonable that if something works, you encourage it.

Given this, I had several proposals at the Breakfast meeting and I will share two of them for free:

(i)????????????States need to start pooling their drug/medical supplies procurement. This enables us to combine our resources and procure medicines in expanded volumes which will further lower commodity prices.

(ii)???????????Pharmas need to reduce staggering shipments. This is necessary to improve logistic planning and operational efficiency.

In summary, in 2023, let us work smarter and not necessarily harder.

?Shortly after the breakfast meeting, I attended the Investing In Innovation (i3) Africa’s Access to Market event in Lagos. This event convened over 30 innovators and start-ups who are building the future of healthcare supply chains in Africa. They were introduced to policymakers like me, donors, and other relevant health sector leaders. The goal of the event was to encourage partnerships between health sector leaders and innovators to create mutually beneficial projects and investments. During this event, I met with 17 innovators and enjoyed interacting with them. Safe to say that the future of Africa’s healthcare system will be powered by data and driven by African innovations. I also caught up with some of the smartest brains in the development space: Mara Hansen Staples , Muyi Aina , Efosa Ojomo , Prashant Yadav , Judith Heichelheim , Joshua L. , Ann Allen , Temitayo Erogbogbo and Remi ADESEUN . It was a good outing.

?Right after the I3 event, I flew into Abuja for the 63rd National Council on Health (NCH) meeting. As a council member, I joined my Commissioner colleagues and the Honourable Minister of Health to discuss critical issues in the health sector and approve several resolutions on the way forward. I also participated in a panel session on Nigeria’s demographic transition, where I shared my thoughts on how the recently established Nigeria State Health Leadership Collaborative, an initiative of the Nigeria Health Commissioners' Forum aimed at fostering accountability and improving health outcomes through the use of data for decision making.

?Right now, I’m back in my beloved State ??, doing what I do best – solving problems and improving our health system performance.

Honourable mention: while I was away, His Excellency Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji made an unscheduled stop at a primary health care facility to assess performance. Good enough, the facility staff demonstrated capacity in the discharge of their duties. I am proud of the health workers in Ekiti State. Thank you all for your service.

?It’s been busy on my end. How are you doing?