Editor
By Fatima Saka
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom mni, has urged Heads of Agencies and Federal Tertiary Health Institutions under the Ministry to focus on initiatives and initiatives that will align with the government’s priorities, in their 2025 capital projects budget allocations.
The Permanent Secretary provided this guidance during an going stakeholders’ two-days workshop on 2024 budget performance and bilateral session on 2025 budget preparation with Agencies and Federal Tertiary Health Institutions, held on Wednesday in Abuja.
Expanding on this, Kachollom emphasized the significance of the interactive session on efficient budgeting to achieve desired outcomes in accordance with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration, emphasizing, “It is crucial to allocate capital budget resources to projects and programs that are in line with the government’s priorities.
She stated, “The main objective of this bilateral discussion is to facilitate the alignment of strategies with effective budgeting to fulfill the health sector mandate and to meticulously evaluate and justify the projects and programs for which resources are to be allocated.”
“This aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President for the revitalization of the Health Sector and the government’s development priorities outlined in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025”, added the Permanent Secretary.
To this end, Kachollom encouraged participants and stakeholders to exercise meticulous attention when formulating projects and programs for their respective agencies and institutions.
The Permanent Secretary stressed this by asserting, “It is crucial to emphasize that during these challenging times, meticulous attention must be given to cost effectiveness. The costs of projects and programs must be judiciously managed to ensure that the public receives value for money as envisioned in the Ministry’s mandate.”
In her introductory remarks, the Director of Finance and Account at the Ministry, Mrs. Bakre Modupe FCA, emphasized the critical nature of budgeting as it enables proper planning and allocation of resources to programs and projects.
She further mentioned that the purpose of the meeting is to evaluate the Ministry’s performance in the Health sector for the year 2024 and strategize for better progress in the health sector.
Presenting a status report on budget implementation and challenges from Hospitals, the Chairman of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors of Federal Tertiary Hospitals, Professor Emem Bassey, highlighted the three primary mandates which include providing medical services, training, and research, underscoring the insufficient budgetary provisions for these areas.
Prof. Bassey utilized the opportunity of the forum to advocate for special interventions in power supply to the institutions as well as adequate hospital infrastructure, among other necessities.
