Lagos State is developing a three-year strategy to address gaps in its primary healthcare system as health authorities warn that population growth, malnutrition, workforce shortages and disease outbreaks are placing increasing pressure on facilities delivering most healthcare services in the state.
The Lagos State Primary Health Care Board last week conducted a three-day strategic planning workshop with support from the World Bank-backed IMPACT Project and the participation of chairmen of Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas.
The proposed plan is expected to establish a baseline for primary healthcare services across Lagos, identify infrastructure and workforce gaps, assign responsibilities among government institutions and development partners, and provide a costed framework for investment over the next three years.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said primary healthcare would be central to meeting the needs of the state’s growing population and achieving its long-term development objectives.
Abayomi said “about 70 per cent of healthcare delivery takes place at the primary healthcare level”, making the facilities the foundation of the wider health system.
He said Lagos could not rely on its existing infrastructure and workforce without planning for future pressures, particularly as the population continued to grow.
The commissioner identified nutrition as an immediate concern, disclosing that “about three in every 10 children in Lagos are affected by either undernutrition or overnutrition”.
He said the state would need sustained investment in infrastructure, medical equipment, health personnel and financing while preparing for a range of emerging and persistent threats.
Among the challenges identified were population pressure, climate change, infectious disease outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance, malnutrition, non-communicable diseases, drug abuse, brain drain and shortages of health workers.
“The vision is clear: Lagos must build a resilient PHC system capable of serving today’s needs while preparing for the Lagos of tomorrow,” Abayomi said.
The Permanent Secretary of the LSPHCB, Dr Ibrahim Mustafa, described the planning exercise as a “turning point” for the state’s primary healthcare system, saying stakeholders were expected to move beyond broad policy commitments and identify specific gaps and interventions.
According to him, the workshop provided an opportunity to develop “a clear and practical roadmap for strengthening PHC services”.
Mustafa said the process would focus on ensuring that investment in primary healthcare translated into measurable improvements in services available to residents.
He urged participants to identify existing weaknesses, prioritise interventions and strengthen accountability, stressing that the strategy should not remain merely a planning document.
The Executive Secretary of the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, Dr Victoria Egunjobi, said expanding physical infrastructure alone would not guarantee functional primary healthcare facilities.
She said a PHC facility must meet standards covering infrastructure, equipment, personnel, electricity, water supply, infection prevention and control, waste management and record-keeping, among other essential services.
Egunjobi urged the LGAs and LCDAs to work more closely with the regulatory agency to ensure that public PHCs were properly registered and accredited.
She said, “quality healthcare is a right”, arguing that public facilities should be held to standards comparable to those required of private healthcare providers.
The Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the LSPHCB, Dr Temitope Balogun-Alo, said the workshop would provide the evidence base for future healthcare spending by assessing existing facilities and services and determining where investment was most urgently required.
She said the process would also produce “a harmonised strategy” for the state government, LGAs, LCDAs and development partners while clarifying responsibilities and reducing duplication.
The Lagos IMPACT Project Manager, Dr Veronica Iwayemi, said the World Bank-supported intervention had helped drive evidence-based reforms and strengthen primary healthcare services across the state.
She, however, said the next challenge would be ensuring that the gains made through the project could be sustained after the interventions.
Iwayemi said the involvement of local government and LCDA chairmen was particularly important in ensuring that healthcare interventions reached communities where they were needed.
The workshop is expected to produce a coordinated and costed three-year plan to guide investment and improve access to primary healthcare across Lagos.LASISMA, Ikoyi-Obalende partner against public space encroachment.
