Corruption In Health Sector Can Cost Lives – Minister Warns

BY Madunagu Amarachi, Abuja

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has warned that corruption in the health sector can cost lives, as the Federal Government moves to strengthen accountability and prevent diversion of public resources.

Pate gave the warning in Abuja at the inauguration of a Joint Task Team of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

He said every naira invested in the health system carried an obligation to reach health facilities, health workers and Nigerians whose lives depended on the services provided.

When health resources are diverted, the consequences go beyond financial losses, as medicines may not reach facilities, equipment may be unavailable when needed and essential services may fall short of expectations, he said.

“Let me be unequivocal: this Ministry will not tolerate corruption,” Pate said.

The minister, however, stressed that the government’s approach would go beyond responding to corruption after it occurred, saying institutional vulnerabilities must be identified and loopholes closed before public resources were lost.

He described the Joint Task Team as “an instrument for institutional change,” saying its mandate was to identify vulnerabilities, strengthen preventive controls and improve oversight across the health sector.

Pate said the initiative was particularly important in the management of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), where the government had introduced measures to strengthen financial accountability.

He disclosed that under BHCPF 2.0, the government had deployed 774 Performance and Financial Management Officers, one to each local government area, to independently verify how funds were received and utilised.

He added that verified National Identification Numbers were being used to authenticate beneficiaries and reduce duplication, while tighter standards for fund utilisation and digital processes were being introduced to enable resources to be tracked from allocation to use.