From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Kogi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (KSPHCDA), has procured and donated data tools worth over N20 million to the State Ministry of Health to enhance effective data collation.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony in Lokoja, Dr Abubakar Yakubu, the Executive Director of KSPHCDA, said the data tools were procured under the Impact Project anchored by the Agency.
Dr Yakubu said the tools would assist the department of Health, Planning and Statistics of the Ministry in data collation, processing to address the hitherto impeding correct data analysis from the State.
“Let me quickly established the importance of what we are doing today.
“About one or two years ago, we had this challenge of our data not reflected in the National Statistics; the reason being that we did not have tools to transmit those data.
“The version we were having then was not updated which made us to have a very drastic drop in our reporting from the relevant agencies responsible for data processing and evaluation in the country, which affected our work plan.
“We made frantic efforts to correct the trend, and today we have more than enough data tools to work with across all our health facilities in the state,” he said.
He described the action as very strategic from the KSPHCDA under the Impact Project and for the Ministry to see it as a very good gesture for the collaborative roles that we have established over time .
“There is no system without data because you cannot make any meaningful planning without data.
“We need to report all our interventions and the data has to be captured correctly and appropriately. The cost for the latest version of the procured data tools is way over N20 million.
“We hope that it would better our reporting profile for all our health indices in the state”.
The ED appreciated the leadership of Impact Project, KSPHCDA, Ministry of Health, as well as partners such as World Bank, among others.
The Executive Director urged primary users of the tools to effectively utilised them by generating accurate data, report back to the state appropriately thereby enhancing the state’s health data capacity.
In his response, the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Zakari Usman, commended KSPHCDA for including the provision of the latest version of the data tools in their work plan to the ministry.
Usman, who was represented by the Director of Public Health in the Ministry, Dr Francis Akpa, described the gesture as evidence of synergy that existed between the Ministry and all its Parastaltas.
He said that the tools would further enhance the state ministry of health’s ability to report on the current data in the state.
The commissioner assured that the ministry would continue to leverage on other existing projects between the ministry and the agency.
On his part, Mr Theophilus Olorunmaiye, the Program Manager for IMPACT, said the data tools were the latest version of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The presented items include; 825 copies of each of NHIS HF monthly Summary Form, Vaccine & Devices Requisition Ledger, OPD Register and TD Register, Monthly Immunization Summary Form, and HF Daily General Attendance Register.
Others include: 825 copies of HF Vaccine Utilisation Summary Form, VM IA/IB, Child Immunisation Register, HD Daily Immunization Tally Sheet, Health Facility Daily ANC Register; and 21 copies of LGA Summary Form.