By Rotimi Odofin
The Kogi State Ministry of Health has reaffirmed its commitment to improving health outcomes and bolstering public confidence in the state’s health system through the 2025 Fourth Quarter Performance Dialogue. The initiative aims not only to enhance statistical data but also to ensure that every indicator reflects the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.
These sentiments were expressed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Mr. Steven Momoh Aziz, during the opening of the 2025 Fourth Quarter Performance Dialogue in Lokoja, representing the Honorable Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abdulazeez Adams Adeiza. Mr. Aziz emphasized that the Performance Dialogue is a crucial accountability mechanism designed to meticulously analyze data on maternal and child health, immunization coverage, disease surveillance, nutrition services, and health facility utilization. The objective is to ensure that policies, plans, and interventions lead to tangible improvements in the health and well-being of Kogi State’s residents.
Mr. Aziz acknowledged that 2025 has brought both achievements and challenges, despite resource constraints and operational hurdles. He commended the dedication, resilience, and professionalism of health workers and program teams, urging them to remain focused on enhancing data quality, improving reporting timelines, strengthening supervision, and ensuring that interventions reach the most vulnerable populations in the state.
The Permanent Secretary also expressed gratitude to development partners and supporting agencies for their technical and financial support, which has been instrumental in advancing the state’s health objectives.Emphasizing the importance of collaboration as the foundation for sustainable progress, Dr. Bola Emmanuel Jonah, the SWAP desk officer in the state, highlighted the significance of the 4th Quarter Performance Dialogue. He described it as a critical platform for performance assessment and a means to enhance expected outcomes. Dr. Jonah noted that SWAP was established in 2024, with the Performance Dialogue commencing in 2025, aimed at providing a framework for policy formation and implementation to improve health sector outcomes at both the state and national levels. He emphasized that the Fourth Quarter Performance Dialogue is both timely and significant, offering an opportunity to objectively review key state health indicators, assess collective performance over the past year, identify gaps, and develop practical strategies for improving service delivery as the new planning cycle begins.
Mr. Johnson Aiyedogbon, Director of the State Ministry of Health for Health Planning, Research, Statistics, and Documentation, urged participants to be guided by evidence, transparency, and a shared commitment to progress. He encouraged discussions to be frank, constructive, and solution-driven, with actionable steps, clear timelines, and defined responsibilities.
In his presentation, Mr. Brihmon Sule, the State HMIS Officer from the Ministry of Health’s Department of Health Research Planning, underscored the crucial need for effective, holistic synergy in the reporting system across all health facilities in the state. He called for uniform health data reporting from primary, tertiary, and private health facilities as a way to establish a harmonized and robust data management system for the state’s health sector.
