Nasarawa, 27 June 2017 - The Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NAPHDA) has adopted instruments of World Health Organization (WHO) accountability framework to improve efficiency of the health workforce and instill a culture that makes personnel highly responsible. The framework, which rewards outstanding performance, also sanctions staff members with dwindling outcomes.

The adoption of the framework was reached on the premise of continuous classification of Nasarawa as one of the high-risk states where every year, high number of children, mostly those under five years of age, die from vaccine preventable diseases in Nigeria. Additionally, the state is at risk of polio importation with high influx of internally displaced persons, fleeing insurgency in Borno state where four cases were isolated in 2016.

In response to the situation, the state sought immediate remedies.

“With the  obvious negative fallout, intensification of immunization activities is required to ensure that every eligible child is reached through both routine and supplemental immunization activities (SIAs) to boost their immunity as the State cannot afford to be a  sanctuary of wild polio virus”, Dr Mohammed Usman Adis the ES of NAPHDA said.

In order to initiate the process in Nasarawa state, NAPHDA applied the accountability framework to its management personnel and health workers involved in immunization activities across the state as a pilot before its widespread application. Results from the exercise showed that 156 personnel involved in SIAs were sanctioned for poor performance, while three local government Interim Management Committee (IMC) Chairmen and one Supervisory Councilor for Health were commended for their dedication to immunization activities in their respective LGAs.

The ES of NAPHDA disclosed that the adoption of the accountability would be extended to other departments of the Agency and possibly to other Ministries across all tiers of government in the State.

Speaking on behalf of other awardees, an elated IMC Chairman of Lafia LGA who was recognized and rewarded as ‘Most Outstanding Chairman’, said that the public recognition of individual contributions boosted their morals. In his words, “The recognition will go a long way in creating healthy competition especially among political leaders to provide unrivalled oversight and support for key immunization activities”.

To measure WHO staff performance over time, administrative actions are taken on individual staff members and the conduct of major activities with identified performance indicators. For engendering objective assessments, the WHO accountability framework follows a results-based management approach that calls for delegated responsibility, authority, and accountability in a decentralized environment at all levels of the organization. In Nigeria, the systematic implementation of an accountability framework is a function for optimizing staff performance.

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For more information, please contact:

Technical contact:

Dr Richard Banda; Tel: +234803 888 8269 ; Email: bandari [at] who.int (bandari[at]who[dot]int) 

Media contact:

Ms  Charity Warigon; Tel: +234 810 221 0093; Email: warigonc [at] who.int (warigonc[at]who[dot]int)

Below:

01 Lafia LGA IMC Chairman displaying  the Most Outstanding Chairman award

02 Dr Idang Ebong, WHO Nasarawa State Coordinator presenting a plaque to another recipient