FG, Plan International Nigeria, Stakeholders Meet To Review 2019 NHMIS Tools

Stakeholders at the Review of the 2019 National Health Management Information System, NHMIS tools meeting in Abuja have identified some challenges that hindered the tool from being operational.

This includes inaccurate and unreliable data, poor infrastructure, suboptimal functioning of NHMIS, and coordination of all players in the health sector.

In a paper presentation, ” A brief overview and update of the NHMIS tools review process and roadmap, the Head, National Health Management Information System, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Mr John Bisong said the complex and cumbersome data tools also affected NHMIS from being operational.

According to him,” The NHMIS formed the backbone for monitoring results achieved from the implementation of the National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP). ”

”It provides information on health service delivery and its supporting health system, in a timely and reliable manner. It is equipped to improve data capture, storage, analysis, and report generation for health data in Nigeria.’‘

The group’s Director, Programme Quality and Influencing, Plan International Nigeria Helen Idiong, noted that the outcome of the meeting would Nigeria to plan adequately, especially for adolescents and girl children.

“There are a lot of changes, we have new infections coming up and so it only makes sense for an organization to keep reviewing its processes to be in tandem with what is available globally.”

“So, for us at Plan International Nigeria, ours is just to support because we understand the importance of adequate data capturing to the work that we do.”

The Head, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Mr Adeola Jegede expressed the hope that the country would overcome some of the identified challenges.

According to him,” The relevant data will provide holistic decisions in the health sector, there is a current drive by the government to ensure improvements in the health indicators.”

“And for you to be able to make the right decisions at the right time, you need to have the tools that will gather the relevant data on identified indicators that are useful in the sector,” he added.