Odahiekwu Ogunde, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State government is set to develop a 10-year roadmap to improve healthcare delivery and performance through strategic planning and stakeholders’ engagement.
The government said the initiative is part of efforts to deal with the numerous health challenges in the state and scale up reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent services.
 To this end, the government through the Ministry of Health is set to host health experts from the United Nations agencies, Donors Development Partners and the private sector to a three-day summit in Yenagoa, the state capital.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, is expected to be the guest of honour, while the President of the Commonwealth Medical Association, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, will be the keynote speaker.The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Pabara Igwele, who disclosed this yesterday in Yenagoa during a pre-event briefing, said the summit is aimed at achieving universal health coverage by strengthening primary healthcare and health financing through expanding the health insurance system.
He explained that the summit is intended to engage stakeholders in developing a framework that would improve the state’s healthcare performance indicators.Igwele said the summit would also create the opportunity for investors to identify areas of partnership and investments that would improve the healthcare sector and create wealth for the betterment of the people of the state.
He said: “It is relevant to identifying challenges and strategic priorities for the Bayelsa State health system and establishing a framework for development of the state 10-year health system improvement plan.”The summit would provide opportunity for community leaders, civil rights groups and investors to engage in ways to create a platform to foster sustained and productive partnership for the transformation of Bayelsa healthcare system.
In his remarks, the the Chairman of the Planning Committee and Chief Medical Director of the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Prof. Dimie Ogoina, said the summit would enable the state to develop a roadmap that would serve as a working document.He said experts from the medical profession and other relevant agencies would discuss core issues on improving the health system in the state in the three-day programme that is expected to hold in April 2021.