SMART HEALTH UPGRADE: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT UNLEASHES TECH-DRIVEN TRAINING FOR FCT MEDICAL BOSSES! 3. FG LAUNCHES DATA POWERHOUSE FOR FCT HEALTHCARE—A NEW ERA BEGINS!

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has successfully concluded a four-day intensive training program aimed at equipping health leaders and managers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with the skills to develop a smart, data-driven, and budget-linked Annual Operational Plan (AOP).

According to iReporter Online, the training, held in Abuja under the framework of the National Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII), focused on leadership enhancement, system strengthening, and capacity development for strategic health planning. Over 70 top-level participants—including senior health officials, program managers, and planning officers from FCT agencies, area councils, and development partners—took part in the knowledge-sharing sessions.

Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary of the FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat (FCT HSES), described the initiative as a major leap toward crafting the 2026 AOP in alignment with the broader FCT budget.

She emphasized that the training would help the administration access available funds through the Disbursement-Linked Indicators (DLIs) mechanism, ensuring better service delivery and results.

She further called on donor agencies and development partners to harmonize their programmes with the FCT Health Sector Strategic Blueprint (HSSB) and the upcoming AOP. According to iReporter Online, this alignment would guarantee that external support directly complements local health priorities.

Speaking on behalf of the technical facilitators, Teresa Nwachukwu—the Acting Director of Health Planning, Research, and Statistics at the FCT HSES—highlighted the breadth of the curriculum. She noted that participants received practical tools for leadership, strategic governance, and effective planning to boost health sector performance.

Modules included system thinking, HOPE Health frameworks, MAMII, bottleneck analysis, and disbursement-linked performance indicators.

The training also deepened knowledge in data literacy, intervention prioritization, performance dialogue, monitoring and evaluation, accountability, and evidence-based research planning.

According to iReporter Online, participants jointly recommended a stronger commitment from development partners to integrate funding into unified, government-led health strategies for the 2026 plan.

Additional resolutions called for enhanced financing at the area council level, improved budget releases across tiers, and an increase in domestic and donor contributions to strengthen the health system—particularly in line with the 15% health budget benchmark of the 2001 Abuja Declaration.

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