Victor Ogunje
The Ekiti State Government has partnered Massachusetts Institute of Technology Governance Laboratory (MIT/GOVLAB) for improved healthcare delivery that would give more dividends to patients and service seekers.
The agreement was formally reached yesterday in Ado Ekiti during the official launching of a system called ‘Governance Innovation Lifecycle Challenge and Accelerator’, a programme designed to improve patient-driven healthcare services in the state.
Speaking during the launch of the programme, the state Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said with the partnership, an information and technology platform can be provided where patients and those patronising the primary, secondary and tertiary health institutions can make complaints on the qualities of services they are getting.
Fayemi said: “Healthcare as a core driver for human capital development is a key focus of my administration, and we have demonstrated this by implementing a suite of high impact health interventions that address the needs of our people.
“We have done this knowing that investments in health are the most valuable returns, and I am confident that the Governance Innovation Lifecycle Challenge and Accelerator will be a great complement to these investments both now and in the foreseeable future.
“Under the accelerator programme, MIT GOV/LAB and its implementing partners, Gatefield and Co-creation Hub, will work with the quality of care and health security teams in the Ekiti State Ministry of Health to develop prototypes of governance innovations that will strengthen the state health system and resilience.”
In his presentation, the Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Oyebanji Filani, notably stated: “We have carefully assessed our health system and recognised gaps in service delivery that need to be addressed.
“In view of this, we decided to put innovation at the core of driving solutions in the health sector. Working with our partners, two teams in the state Ministry of Health will use the human-centred design approach to develop a set of gender-sensitive monitoring tools, which allows the state to track citizen engagement, provide feedback on the state public health response efforts and establish a complaints-handling system that will address any healthcare-related complaints from members of the community.
“I really look forward to the state going through with this challenge and coming up with ground-breaking solutions that will transform health service delivery in the state.”
Speaking at the event also, Associate Director of Innovation at MIT GOV/LAB, Carlos Centeno, said the accelerator would implement the methodology of its novel Governance Innovation Framework with the teams for an eight-month period. The programme will provide holistic support from knowledge-building through solution development.