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 tackle corruption and strengthen accountability in Nigeria’s health sector.
The initiative is aimed at protecting public investments in healthcare and ensuring that resources allocated to the sector translate into measurable improvements in health outcomes.
Inaugurating the team in Abuja, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate said; “every naira invested in healthcare must deliver measurable value to Nigerians.”
Pate warned that corruption in the health sector could have direct consequences on human lives.
“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.
The Minister said the Joint Task Team would identify institutional vulnerabilities, close loopholes and prevent the diversion or misuse of resources before they affect healthcare delivery.
He said; “the initiative would strengthen accountability in health financing, procurement, infrastructure, medicines and service delivery.”
According to him, 774 Performance and Financial Management Officers have already been deployed under BHCPF 2.0 to independently verify the receipt and utilisation of funds across the 774 Local Government Areas.
Pate said that the ministry was also using verified National Identification Numbers to authenticate beneficiaries, reduce duplication and strengthen transparency and traceability in the management of health resources.
He described the task team as “an instrument for institutional change,” stressing that its recommendations must translate into practical and sustainable reforms beyond the lifespan of the team.
Pate urged members of the team to identify vulnerabilities, recommend practical safeguards and ensure that their work resulted in lasting institutional reforms.
Representing the ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, the commission’s Executive Secretary, Mr Clifford Oparaodu, said the initiative gave practical expression to the Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions.
Aliyu said “the collaboration would strengthen preventive oversight and help address vulnerabilities within the health sector before they resulted in losses.”
According to him, the ICPC’s preventive approach is particularly important in healthcare because corruption is not measured only by financial losses but also by its impact on maternal and infant mortality, immunisation, preventable diseases and access to affordable healthcare.
“Corruption in the health sector is not measured only in financial losses or accounting irregularities,” Aliyu said, adding that “its consequences were reflected in health outcomes.”
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Daju Kachollom said effective stewardship of health resources was fundamental to achieving improved health outcomes.
She said the Joint Task Team would assess the utilisation of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund after each quarterly disbursement.
Kachollom explained that the two-year agreement, subject to renewal, would embed the team within the ministry’s existing structures.
She added that the team would be co-chaired by the Director of Hospital Services and a Director of the ICPC.
Pate charged members of the team to identify vulnerabilities, recommend practical safeguards and ensure that their work resulted in lasting institutional reforms.
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