Group urges Bauchi Govt to release funds for adequate healthcare service delivery

A group, the Health System Strengthening Cluster (HSSC), has called on the Bauchi State Government to release funds allocated for Integrated Supportive Supervision (ISS) in the state’s 2024 budget.

The Executive Director of the Better Life Restoration Initiative, Nkem Ogbonna, made the plea on Friday, during an interactive session with newsmen in Bauchi.

According to Ogbonna, the Integrated Supportive Supervision is a critical intervention aimed at improving the quality of healthcare by providing adequate oversight and facilitating the transfer of skills and knowledge to healthcare providers.

He mentioned that the Cluster is implementing the Scale Project, a USAID-funded initiative running from October 2020 to October 2025, in collaboration with Palladium and Nigeria Resource Partners (RPs).

Ogbonna explained hat ISS has proven to enhance the performance and effectiveness of healthcare workers.

“The Health System Strengthening Cluster is executing a project titled ‘Improved Quality Healthcare Service Delivery through Integrated Supportive Supervision,” he said.

DAILY POST reports that the Cluster includes six civil society organizations: Life Transformation for Africa Initiative, Council for Affirmative Action, Women with Disability, Integrity & Development Initiative, Bauchi State Network of Civil Societies, She-Alert Care Foundation, and Better Life Restoration Initiative, which serves as the anchor organization.

The group also urged for the expansion of the Integrated Supportive Supervision Technical Working Group (ISS-TWG) to include critical stakeholders such as the Ward Development Committee and the Private Sector.

Ogbonna outlined the benefits of ISS, including strengthening the healthcare system, enhancing service delivery quality, improving performance, and encouraging open, two-way communication.

He lamented that the current structure and placement of ISS are suboptimal, limiting its capacity to engage effectively through a sector-wide approach.

He pointed out that domestic financing for ISS is inadequate, leading to high dependency on donor funding, which is unsustainable and affects the continuity of ISS activities.

“The high cost of fuel and transportation has negatively impacted ISS activities, especially in hard-to-reach communities,” Ogbonna added.

To ensure quality healthcare service delivery, sustainable knowledge transfer, and regular mentorship of healthcare providers, Ogbonna called for the creation of a budget line for ISS activities in the 2025 budget.

He concluded by stating that adequate supervision of all Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) in Bauchi State would guarantee quality healthcare service delivery, urging that “the time to act is now.”