Uche Usim, Abuja
The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, has assured the nation that the proposed reforms in the health sector, being canvassed by the agency, would not involve divestment of the government from any health facility. He explained that the reforms would entail a repositioning of the health sector to increase private sector participation and funding, thereby improving access to quality healthcare for all and reverse poor health indices in the country. He made the remark at the inauguration of the Project Delivery Team (PDT) for the Nigeria Health Sector Reform at BPE recently.
Okoh, who was represented by the Director, Post Transaction Management Department, Mallam Yusuf Adamu, further explained that the health sector reform is a joint initiative of the Bureau of BPE and the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), designed to undertake a comprehensive, holistic, partnership-based reform of the health sector towards addressing the challenges facing the sector in the country.
The Project Delivery Team, which is expected to effectively drive the reform process and make necessary recommendations to the Health Reform Steering Committee (HSRSC), is charged with:
interfacing with and reviewing the reports of the consultancies and make recommendation to the Committee;
developing a detailed project plan for the reform of the health sector; design and drive stakeholder’s sensitization and engagement strategies for a successful reform;
develop a process for identification and selection of the most suitable investors for the health sector and carry out any other activities that may be necessary to ensure successful reform of the Nigerian health sector.