ABUJA, September 26, 2016 – Each of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory has received $1.5 million apiece to improve maternal, child, and nutrition health services for women and children throughout the country.
The investment was made possible through Saving One Million Lives (SOML), a government-led initiative supported by a $500 million World Bank International Development Association credit.
“This is the first check you will receive, and it may very well be the last if you do not perform well,” announced Nigeria’s Minister of Health Professor Isaac F. Adewole during the official launch ceremony.
The World Bank’s support for SOML will use the Program for Results (PforR) instrument to encourage greater focus on results, increase accountability, improve measurements, strengthen management, and foster innovation. PforR rewards states with untied fiscal transfers from the federal government when they achieve improvements in the coverage and quality of key maternal and child health (MCH) services as measured by independent household and health facility surveys. It will be implemented over four years.
“The ceremony signals the changing ethos within the health sector where the focus is gradually shifting from funding inputs such as drugs, commodities, hiring more health workers, and reimbursing activity costs only, to paying for results and improved health outcomes for beneficiaries,” said Benjamin Loevinsohn, World Bank Lead Health Specialist.
Despite huge investments in health, Nigeria’s health system underperforms relative to countries that spend less on health. Maternal and under-five mortality rates remain high, with about 900,000 women and children dying each year, largely from preventable causes. With a maternal mortality of 576 per 100,000 livebirths, and under five mortality of 128 per 1,000 live births, Nigeria accounts for 14% of global maternal mortality.
Credit: World bank