Ogun State has emerged as one of the leading States in the country with a strong Annual Operational Plan (AOP) for the health sector at the subnational level.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, who disclosed this at a week-long 2027 Annual Operational Plan Harmonisation Workshop in Ijebu-Ode, said a recently conducted strategic review of the 2026 State AOPs found Ogun State to have a strong AOP.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Kayode Oladehinde, the Commissioner said only 11 states showed evidence of having a qualitative planning process through their AOPs for 2026.

“According to the review, only 11 states, approximately 30 per cent, were assessed as having strong plans, while roughly 25 states, representing about 68 per cent, required improvement, adding that this was a sign that we had laid a good foundation for consistently developing measurable, impactful plans that would help us strengthen our healthcare delivery systems,’’ she said.

Dr. Coker, noted that the State had developed its first holistic AOP in 2021, long before the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare made the development of AOPs a requirement for all states, describing the findings of the Strategic Review as evidence that the State was already on the right path.

She, however, added that the recognition should be seen as a call for greater responsibility among stakeholders to continuously improve the quality of the State’s planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting, rather than a reason to be complacent.

In her welcome address, the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Ministry of Health, Dr. Deborah Osisanwo, said an important objective of the workshop was to ensure that the 2027 plan prioritised high-impact interventions, calling on stakeholders at the programme to distinguish between activities that were essential and those that could be deferred.

An official of the Sector-wide Approach Office of the Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Prosper Ahworegba, said harmonisation of AOPs across all the States of the federation was necessary as it would assist not only the states in planning but also the Federal Government.