The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), in partnership with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the World Bank and Resolve to Save Lives Nigeria, has launched a Health Security Scorecard aimed at improving states’ preparedness for disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies.
The scorecard was unveiled on Wednesday at a validation workshop in Abuja, where health experts and development partners described it as a key tool for measuring states’ health security performance and identifying areas that need improvement.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of Programme Partnership at the NGF Secretariat, Dr Ahmad Abdulwahab, said the initiative would provide a unified system for assessing health security across the 36 states.
He explained that while national policies provide direction, effective disease prevention and response depend largely on actions taken by state governments.
According to Abdulwahab, the scorecard will combine key health security indicators into a single assessment tool, enabling governors to monitor progress, identify gaps and make informed decisions to strengthen public health systems.
He said the initiative would also reduce duplication in reporting by harmonising existing assessment tools into one standard framework that would provide clear and actionable data for policymakers.
The Executive Director of Resolve to Save Lives Nigeria, Dr Nanlop Ogburuke, said strengthening state-level health systems was essential to preventing and responding to outbreaks such as cholera, Lassa fever and Ebola.
She noted that representatives from all 36 states were working with development partners to review health security indicators to ensure the scorecard reflects the realities and needs of each state.
Also speaking, the NCDC’s Dr Oyeladun Okunromade said the workshop was designed to identify gaps in state health security systems and establish an accountability framework for tracking performance.
The World Bank’s Senior Health Specialist, Dr Chijioke Okoro, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to supporting Nigeria in building resilient state health systems capable of preventing, detecting and responding effectively to public health emergencies.
Participants at the workshop agreed that the Health Security Scorecard would enhance accountability, guide evidence-based decision-making and strengthen Nigeria’s overall health security system.
(The Sun)
