The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have inaugurated a Joint Task Team to identify vulnerabilities and prevent the diversion or misuse of public funds in Nigeria’s health sector.
The initiative, launched by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, and ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Aliyu, is expected to strengthen preventive controls, improve accountability and protect investments in healthcare.
Pate said corruption in the health sector could have life threatening consequences, stressing that every naira invested in healthcare must deliver value to Nigerians.
“When those resources are diverted, the cost is not abstract. It is a medicine that never arrives, equipment that is unavailable when needed, or a service that falls short. In this sector, corruption can cost lives,” he said.
According to a statement by the ministry’s Assistant Director of Information, Ado Bako, made available to journalists in Abuja, Pate said the ministry would move beyond reacting to corruption to proactively identifying and addressing institutional weaknesses that make abuse possible.
He described the Joint Task Team as an “instrument for institutional change”, rather than another committee, with a mandate focused on prevention, institutional strengthening and improved oversight.
The minister cited measures already being implemented to strengthen accountability, including the deployment of 774 Performance and Financial Management Officers under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) 2.0.
He said one officer had been assigned to each Local Government Area to independently verify the receipt and utilisation of funds.
Pate also said the ministry was using verified National Identification Numbers to authenticate beneficiaries and reduce duplication, while digitalising processes and strengthening fund utilisation standards to improve transparency and traceability.
He said the safeguards would cover health financing, procurement, infrastructure, medicines and service delivery.
“Investment without integrity cannot deliver sustainable results,” Pate said.
The minister urged members of the task team to identify vulnerabilities and recommend practical safeguards capable of producing reforms that would outlast the team itself.
The ICPC Chairman, represented by the Commission’s Executive Secretary, Clifford Oparaodu, said the inauguration gave practical effect to the two institutions’ Memorandum of Understanding on preventive oversight of health sector resources, particularly the BHCPF.
Aliyu said funds allocated to primary healthcare must reach the facilities and beneficiaries for whom they were intended and be used transparently, efficiently and in line with due process.
He described preventive intervention as a cheaper, less intrusive and more sustainable approach to fighting corruption.
The ICPC chairman warned that corruption in healthcare could extend beyond financial losses, affecting maternal and infant mortality, immunisation, preventable diseases and access to affordable healthcare.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Daju Kachollom, said protecting public resources was fundamental to improving health outcomes and reducing the physical and financial burden of ill health.
She said the two year agreement between the ministry and ICPC, subject to renewal, would operate through existing structures of the ministry.
The Joint Task Team will be co chaired by the Director of Hospital Services and a director of the ICPC, with representatives from relevant departments, including Human Resource Management and the ministry’s Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit.
Its secretariat will be domiciled at the BHCPF Secretariat and will conduct assessments after each quarterly disbursement of the fund.
The co-chairmen, Dr. Abisola Adegoke and Mr. Shehu Gambo, pledged to carry out the assignment transparently and diligently, with a focus on strengthening accountability and ensuring value for money in the health sector.
