Health Minister calls for holistic approach to tackle corruption
By Kunle Sanni
The Minister of Health, Ali Pate, has emphasized that corruption must be addressed holistically and not just by focusing on a few bad actors.
Speaking at a one-day conference titled “Corruption-Free Primary Health Care Delivery for All” held at the ICPC’s headquarters, the Minister also stated that the challenge in the health sector is systemic and multi-institutional, linked to both state capacity and individuals.
“The minister maintains that corruption must be addressed holistically and not just by focusing on a few bad actors,” Pate said.
Highlighting the importance of proper functioning primary healthcare in achieving Universal Health Coverage, he said it is the cornerstone of a robust healthcare system, providing essential services to all.
The Minister affirmed the need for effective collaboration between the ICPC and the Ministry to form a formidable system to tackle the challenges leading to corrupt practices in the Primary Health-Care system.
“In health, what we are trying to do is to improve the system, save lives, and reduce physical and financial pains for all Nigerians. A lot of the population have access to nothing. So, in the disbursement of these basic needs at the Primary Health-Care level, we’ll be asking the ICPC and other law enforcement agencies to keep an eye, and we’ll be glad to have your team work with the MOC (Ministerial Oversight Committee) Secretariat to look at the facilities and all the disbursement amounts.”
The Minister also emphasized the importance of accountability in the primary healthcare sector, saying that with the collaboration of the ICPC, deterrence could be established to make the sector corruption-free.
“I really want to appreciate your invitation to us. We’ll join hands with you, and I will assign a team from the ministry, including the head of the anti-corruption team, one of my senior aides, and others in the ministry, to work with your team to develop a comprehensive program. Periodically, we’ll take stock, work together to prevent what we can prevent, and correct errors. That is the way to build a system.”
In his remarks, the Chairman of ICPC, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, noted that the conference was organized to stimulate discussions to help improve service delivery, devoid of opportunities for corrupt tendencies in the Health Sector.
He added that the Commission’s choice of the Primary Health Care in the Federal Capital Territory (F.C.T.) as the pilot for the nationwide conversation was to create a comprehensive template that can be replicated in all six geopolitical zones of the federation.
He said, “Participants were carefully drawn from community healthcare stakeholders to have a holistic and collaborative approach to improving the effectiveness of primary healthcare service delivery. This is just one of the many efforts being made by the Commission to enlist and foster public support in combating corruption in Nigeria.”
The ICPC Boss also commended the interest shown by several communities and civil societies in tackling corruption in the health sector, saying one of such interests triggered swift action from the Commission, preventing many dishonest practices in the sector.
