ICPC partners health ministry to fight corruption in primary healthcare

ICPC partners health ministry to fight corruption in primary healthcare

JOEL OLADELE, Abuja 

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has partnered with the Federal Ministry of Health to fight corruption in primary healthcare delivery in Nigeria. 

This was made known at a one-day conference themed “Corruption-Free Primary Health Care Delivery for All” organized by the ICPC in Abuja on Thursday.

Speaking at the conference, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Mohammad Ali Pate, said that corruption is a deep issue that affects the health sector, citing the example of donated therapeutic foods that were meant to feed malnourished children but were instead diverted. 

“When we look at the issue of corruption in Nigeria, which is very long-standing, it’s ubiquitous. I recently just dealt with another case where donated, ready-to-use therapeutic foods, were donated to feed acutely malnourished children, free of charge to where we have severe acute malnutrition.

“Somebody raised grants, raised resources, brought it to Abuja, deployed it to one of the state capitals, and they filtered away.

“So it is a very deep issue. I have to write to the IG, and I would like to thank him also, specifically for deploying a very senior officer of the police force to be part of the task force. The challenge we face is a system and a paradigm that exists, that tolerates, encourages, demands, and accommodates corruption. In health, which is just one sector, sometimes it’s difficult to isolate corruption in health,” Pate narrated.

He therefore pledged the ministry’s commitment to working with the ICPC to prevent and detect corruption in the health sector.

“What we are trying to do is to improve the system, save lives, and reduce physical and financial pains for all Nigerians. A lot of the population has access to nothing.

“So, in the disbursements of these basic needs at the Primary Health-Care level, we’ll be asking the ICPC and other law enforcement agencies to keep an eye, and we’ll be glad to have your team work with the MOC (Ministerial Oversight Committee) Secretariat to look at the facilities of all the disbursement amounts.

“I really want to appreciate your invitation to us, we’ll join hands with you and I will assign a team from the ministry, the head of the anti-corruption team, one of my Senior Aides as well as others in the Ministry, to work with the counterpart from your team to develop a whole program that periodically we’ll take stock.

“We will work together to prevent what we can prevent, and if there are errors, we correct them,” he stated.

In his speech, the Chairman of the ICPC, Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, emphasized the need for entrenching professionalism, ethics, integrity, and anti-corruption values in the healthcare sector. 

“This has become necessary considering the sector’s critical nature and its role in ensuring a healthy society at all levels. “The Commission’s choice of the Primary Health Care in the Federal Capital Territory (F.C.T.) as the pilot for the nationwide conversation is to create a comprehensive template that can be replicated in all the six-geopolitical zones of the federation.  “This is just one of the many efforts being made by the Commission to enlist and foster public support in combating corruption in Nigeria. Communities and civil society are taking a deserved interest in tackling corruption in the health sector,” Aliyu noted.

The ICPC chairman specifically made reference to a recent account of two staff members of the Sambawa Primary Healthcare Centre, Kebbi State, indicted in the case of missing antenatal care items and reiterated the Commission’s commitment to bringing such offenders to book 

“Recently, the Sambawa community in Kebbi State sent a petition to us regarding missing antenatal care items for pregnant women and newborn babies donated to a healthcare facility. 

“Our preliminary investigation indicated that the missing diapers allocated to Sambawa Primary Healthcare Centre are 13,350 pieces, while the investigation by Kebbi State Primary Healthcare Agency puts it at 3,466. Though the two staff members of the Sambawa Primary Healthcare Centre, a male and a female, were indicted for the missing items, we intend to go all out and unravel the dishonest conduct and bring the culprits to book. 

“It is, therefore, not a mistake that this conference targets entrenching professionalism, ethics, integrity, and other anti-corruption values to engineering a more effective and corruption-free primary healthcare delivery, leveraging the Commission’s preventive mandates and strategies. 

“Additionally, the Conference targets anti-corruption awareness on how to ensure transparency and accountability in the healthcare delivery system, including diminishing tendencies for corrupt practices on both the side of healthcare providers and persons using healthcare facilities,” the Chairman noted.

He further highlighted the ICPC’s efforts to prevent corruption in the sector, including conducting corruption risk assessments and engaging with law enforcement agencies.

In her keynote address, the Federal Capital Territory Authority’s Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment, Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, decried how corruption has hampered primary healthcare service delivery in Nigeria, calling for the adoption of a public health approach to making the system corruption-free.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption, Kayode Moshood Akiolu, in hid goodwill message congratulated the ICPC for conceiving such a topical issue. He emphasized the need to tackle corruption in the primary healthcare subsector to improve working conditions for medical professionals and service delivery.

The conference brought together stakeholders from various sectors to discuss ways to engender corruption-free primary healthcare delivery in Nigeria. 

The conference also highlighted the need for competent and transparent leadership at key positions in the healthcare system to ensure that policies and laws are implemented effectively. 

The ICPC also pledged to continue its efforts to work with stakeholders to combat corruption in Nigeria’s healthcare sector. The Commission is also committed to publishing its findings and recommendations on corruption risk assessments conducted in the sector.