The Ogun State Government has projected over 75% implementation status for its Health Plan for 2023, just as it reiterated its commitment to making healthcare accessible to all residents of the State. 

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker disclosed this projection while declaring open a 5-Day Workshop on the Development of the Annual Operational Plan (AOP) for the Health Sector organized by the state government in conjunction with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Ijebu-Ode. 

Coker said the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration had identified planning as  instrumental to its drive towards addressing the gaps in the health needs of the people, saying this led to the unprecedented State Health AOPs developed in 2021 and 2022. 

She noted the previous AOPs served as guiding light for activities and interventions of government health agencies, healthcare facilities, and development partners in the State,  advocating that "smart planning" would ensure that the 2023 AOP records better implementation than the previous ones. 

"Our administration has always upheld the tenet that health is a basic human right. This is underscored by the huge investment seen in the health sector over the past few years. We also recognize the significance of planning while striving to achieve universal health coverage. 

"That is the reason for putting together and working in line with our AOPs since 2021. The state has been able to attain some milestones through these plans. Nevertheless, I want to charge all the stakeholders at this workshop to plan realistically this time around. This would ensure that we can achieve a minimum of 75% implementation status for 2023", She said. 

The Commissioner also charged Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) officers to scale up thier activities to ensure that the projected implementation status of the new AOP is achieved. 

While appreciating the stakeholders, including health Programme Directors, coordinators, M&E officers, and partners for their contributions to the development of the AOPs, the Commissioner assured of the State Government's resolve to improve the social welfare and wellbeing of all residents. 

Earlier, the Director of Health, Planning Research and Statistics, Dr. Kayode Kushimo appreciated the Commissioner for her sterling leadership approach which brought about the development of AOP in 2020 for the health sector for the first time in the history of the state. 

Kushimo assured that the 2023 development plan would further consolidate on the achievements of the previous ones without dropping the ball. 

The state representative of UNICEF, Mrs. Florence Moloku expressed satisfaction with the State government for committing its resources to the development of Annual plans for the Health Sector, which she described as the reason for the series of award and laurels the Gateway State had won in the health sector.