NGF and partners launch healthcare safety assessment report

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has collaborated with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Bank, and Resolve to Save Lives Nigeria to launch a Health Security Scorecard, aimed at bolstering the monitoring of states’ preparedness for infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies.

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This scorecard was unveiled on Wednesday during a Health Security Scorecard Validation Workshop in Abuja, where it was hailed by health experts and development partners as a vital tool for identifying gaps in state-level health security systems and driving evidence-based interventions.

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According to Dr Ahmad Abdulwahab, Executive Director of Programme Partnership at the NGF Secretariat, the initiative seeks to establish a unified framework for evaluating health security governance across the 36 states, with the belief that true health security is built from the ground up.

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Abdulwahab emphasized that while national frameworks provide the architecture, subnational execution and accountability are crucial for epidemic preparedness, detection, and response, and that the scorecard will integrate key health security indicators into a single assessment tool.

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The scorecard is designed to help governors monitor progress, identify gaps, and strengthen accountability, with Abdulwahab noting that it will enable states to evaluate their current level of preparedness and use the findings to guide future policy decisions and investments.

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By harmonising disparate metrics into one unified instrument, the NGF Health Security Scorecard aims to eliminate fragmentation, reduce reporting fatigue, and provide state governors and policymakers with clear, actionable insights to strengthen health security accountability across all 36 states, according to Abdulwahab.

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Dr Nanlop Ogburuke, Executive Director of Resolve to Save Lives Nigeria, also spoke at the workshop, stating that the scorecard will strengthen disease preparedness, prevention, and response at the subnational level, and that health security can only be effective when implemented at this level.

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Ogburuke noted that representatives from all 36 states and development partners are reviewing health security indicators and surveillance systems to ensure the scorecard reflects state-specific realities, and that empowering leaders to make informed policy and investment decisions is crucial for preventing and responding to outbreaks.

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Dr Oyeladun Okunromade of the NCDC said the workshop aimed to identify gaps in state health security systems and establish an accountability framework for tracking performance, while the World Bank’s Dr Chijioke Okoro reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen its capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to public health emergencies.

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Okoro emphasized that sustainable disease control depends on building resilient health systems at the state level, and that the Health Security Scorecard will provide a comprehensive assessment of states’ preparedness using state-specific data while promoting accountability and advancing universal health coverage across the country.

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Participants at the workshop agreed that the Health Security Scorecard will provide a valuable tool for assessing states’ preparedness and driving improvements in health security, with the scorecard set to play a critical role in Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen its health security systems.