The Kwara Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, has said that credible and high-quality health data are crucial to improving health outcomes in the state.
El-Imam made this known on Wednesday in Ilorin during a meeting with the Health Data Consultative Committee (HDCC) and the Health Partners’ Coordination (HPC) forum.
She explained that the meeting was convened with key stakeholders to review and strengthen health data management across the state, noting that it formed part of ongoing efforts to improve data quality.
The commissioner appreciated the World Health Organization (WHO), other development partners, programme managers and monitoring and evaluation officers from the state’s 16 local government areas for their commitment to generating accurate and reliable health data.
She said the committee would deliberate on lessons learnt from past health interventions and develop innovative strategies to achieve better outcomes in the future.
El-Imam urged development partners to remain committed to providing timely, accurate and high-quality data to support effective health planning and service delivery.
She also commended Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for emerging first runner-up in the North Central Primary Health Care (PHC) Leadership Challenge in Health, attributing the recognition to collective efforts within the state’s health sector.
Earlier, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the ministry, Mr Kamaldeen Kolawole, described the meeting as a valuable platform for policymakers, technical experts, partners and other stakeholders to review health data.
He said the engagement would help identify emerging challenges, share best practices and agree on actionable recommendations aimed at strengthening the state’s health data ecosystem.
Kolawole stressed the need to build an integrated, responsive and sustainable Health Information System (HIS) that meets the needs of policymakers, service providers and communities.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr Kudirat Lambe, highlighted the state’s achievements in data management while identifying areas requiring further improvement to enhance information exchange, align strategies and ensure judicious use of resources.
She said the committee would continue to monitor the progress of interventions, evaluate impact using key performance indicators, adopt innovative approaches and ensure compliance with agreed terms of engagement.
Lambe added that the State Health Data Indices (SHDI) serve as measurable indicators that describe population health status, health system performance, and the social and environmental factors influencing health outcomes.
