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… Rally For Accountability In Health Delivery

LAGOS – In a bid to reform primary healthcare delivery in Lagos State, Civil Society Organisa­tions (CSOs) and key health stakeholders have reaffirmed their commitment to robust col­laboration and stringent account­ability mechanisms.

The resolution, reached at a Strategic Alliance meeting in Lagos, signals a new era of coor­dinated advocacy and transfor­mation.

The meeting, convened by the Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI) under the International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH) and EngenderHealth project, aims to fortify Primary Health Care (PHC) systems across the state.

Dr Veronica Iwayemi, Director of Medical Services and Disease Control at the Lagos State Pri­mary Health Care Board, in her presentation lauded the CSOs, for their relentless advocacy, budget tracking, and resource mobilisa­tion. Iwayemi credited CSOs with catalysing early successes, includ­ing the procurement of essential consumables at the PHC level.

“We are grateful for your continued support. You are the ones who help us reach out to chairmen, demand accountabil­ity from our Medical Officers of Health, and track our budgets. Your work has ensured sustained funding for crucial health activi­ties,” Iwayemi declared.

In a strategic move to insti­tutionalise excellence, Iwayemi announced the launch of a Gov­ernor’s Excellence Award for Pri­mary Health Care Services in the coming year. The award will hon­our outstanding CSOs, health­care workers, and high-perform­ing Local Government Areas (LGAs), spotlighting those who drive health promotion, disease prevention, and community en­gagement. A transparent scor­ing template, developed in part­nership with CSOs, will ensure credibility and fairness in the selection process.

Faith-Based Advocacy Gains Ground

The meeting also underscored the transformative power of faith-based collaboration. CCSI spotlighted the achievements of the Interfaith Public Health Advocacy Lagos (IPHAL), whose Chairperson, Dr Ajoke Ashiru, highlighted the critical role of religious leaders in shaping health behaviours and promoting awareness.

Ashiru noted that IPHAL has become a formidable force in addressing maternal and child health, family planning, and dis­ease prevention, leveraging trust­ed religious voices to penetrate communities and shift attitudes.

CCSI representatives hailed IPHAL as a model of grassroots mobilisation, affirming that faith-based partnerships have significantly enhanced public ac­ceptance of health interventions and fortified advocacy efforts. Participants agreed that sus­tained investment in communi­cation, advocacy, and faith-driven leadership is non-negotiable for meaningful public health trans­formation.

Abiodun Ajayi, State Advoca­cy Coordinator for CCSI, stressed the urgency of harmonising frag­mented efforts. “Over the past six months, the EngenderHealth-led project has engaged multiple stakeholders, but if everyone continues to work in silos, our impact will remain fragmented; like pouring water into a basket,” he warned.

Ajayi announced the forma­tion of a unified alliance of CSOs and partners to pursue advocacy goals with a singular voice. The alliance will focus on timely re­lease of RMNCAH+N and fami­ly planning funds, and champion gender-responsive health strate­gies. He called on the media to amplify the message of unity, asserting that “the interest of Lagosians must come first.”

The meeting, attended by representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Challenge Initiative (TCI), the Society for Family Health (SFH), and other partners, marks a piv­otal milestone in the campaign for quality healthcare delivery in Lagos State.

Tackling Gender-Based Violence Through Community Engagement

Owolabi Olufunke, of the Family Health and Nutrition Unit at LSMOH, pointed to the entrenched culture of silence in communities. “Traditional and religious leaders often prefer to settle cases quietly. This en­ables perpetrators to continue unchecked,” she said. Cultural stigma remains a formidable barrier, shielding offenders and silencing victims.

Dr. Juradat Aofiyebi, Pro­gramme Manager of the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Unit at the Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMOH), laid bare the grim reality faced by survivors. “People usually do not report sexual and reproductive health cases,” she stated, attributing this to a pervasive lack of trust in institutions meant to protect them.

Among the most glaring fail­ures is the limited availability of rape kits in health facilities, a basic yet critical tool for evidence collection. Compounding this is the outdated mindset of law en­forcement, which still demands physical injury as proof before accepting a case. “Survivors are often made to deliver medi­cal reports themselves to police stations,” Dr. Aofiyebi added, describing the process as emo­tionally exhausting and deeply discouraging.

Efforts to correct these injus­tices are underway, with capaci­ty-building initiatives targeting doctors, social workers, focal persons, and police officers. But the problem is not merely proce­dural, it is cultural.

Pastor Bola Nuga, represent­ing the Lagos State Account­ability Mechanism (LASAM), highlighted the role of families in perpetuating this silence. “Once it’s reported, family mem­bers do everything to cover it up. They don’t want stigma for their wards,” he explained. Nuga called for a radical shift in how communities perceive justice. “Faith can be a tool for healing, not silence,” he said, urging re­ligious leaders to speak openly about SGBV.

Collaborating the views of Nuga, Vicky Uremma, civil so­ciety advocate who cited Agege Local Government as a model of transformation. “After sustained engagement with traditional and religious leaders, the rate of gen­der-based violence dropped sig­nificantly. That shows advocacy works when it is rooted in com­munity structures,” she said.

Unified Advocacy, Sustainable Health Outcomes

Beyond SGBV, the Lagos health system is buckling under the weight of rapid population growth and fragmented inter­ventions. Dr. Folasade Oludara, Director of Family Health and Nutrition at LSMOH, lamented the strain, “Lagos receives thou­sands of new residents daily, which stretches our health in­frastructure.”

She stressed the need for part­nerships, shared accountability, and harmonised advocacy to im­prove outcomes in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) and nutrition. The Lagos State Government is working to strengthen primary health care, but Dr. Oludara emphasised that civil society outreach is indis­pensable. “We are developing scorecards around key maternal and child health indicators, but sensitisation and community mobilisation must come from CSOs,” she said.

Olubunmi Tejumola of the Lagos Civil Society Participation for Development (LACSOP) re­inforced the urgency of integra­tion. “We can’t keep working in isolation. Nutrition, SGBV, HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria are interconnected,” she said. Tejumola proposed practical strategies, including emergency phone numbers for communi­ties to contact case managers or CSO representatives, creating re­al-time linkages between victims and response teams.

At the heart of this move­ment is the Collaborative CSO United Alliance, spearheaded by the Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI). This structured platform aims to co­ordinate advocacy, strengthen ac­countability, and align messaging to policymakers.

“We’re forming a sustainable structure that coordinates all partners and prevents duplica­tion,” explained Ajayi of CCSI. “Our goal is for CSOs to move as one, whether we are advocating for budget releases, family plan­ning funding, or improved gender inclusion in health services.”

With the support of partners such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Challenge Initiative (TCI), and the Society for Family Health (SFH), the al­liance seeks to influence policy through collective voices rather than competing agendas. Advo­cacy priorities include the timely release of RMNCAH and family planning funds, integration of gender and social inclusion, and robust accountability mecha­nisms for sustainable financing and implementation.

“Together, we want to ensure that the health system in La­gos remains top-notch,” Ajayi affirmed. “This isn’t about one organisation taking glory, it is about putting Lagosians first.”

The impact of the alliance is already being felt. For survivors of SGBV, a harmonised advoca­cy system means faster access to justice, medical care, and psy­chosocial support. For mothers and children, it ensures that re­productive, maternal, and nutri­tion interventions reach even the most remote communities.

Dr. Oludara underscored the public health benefits, say­ing, “Preventing complications through awareness and access is far cheaper than curing them. Collaboration ensures no woman or child is left behind, regardless of location or social class.”