The Kwara State Government, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), has commenced a three-day workshop to develop the State Health Promotion Strategic Framework Costed Implementation Plan aimed at strengthening health promotion interventions and improving public health outcomes across the state.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop in Ilorin, the Director of Public Health, Dr Oluwatosin Fakayode, who represented the Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Ahmed El-Imam, described the workshop as a significant step towards improving the health of residents through a coordinated and evidence-based approach.

Dr El-Imam explained that the exercise would enable the state to adapt the National Health Promotion Communication Strategy to its unique needs, ensuring effective implementation based on local realities.

She said the development of a state-specific framework would provide a clear roadmap for promoting healthy behaviours, improving resource coordination and strengthening the impact of health promotion programmes across the state.

According to the Commissioner, the implementation plan will also include monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to accurately assess the effectiveness and outcomes of health promotion activities.

She highlighted the state's commitment to integrated health promotion, revealing that Kwara has developed several educational materials to improve public awareness and recently launched its Integrated Reproductive Health and Malaria Control (RHAMCAN) initiative.

Dr El-Imam added that the initiative, which was recently presented at a national meeting in Yola, Adamawa State, features community-based communication tools and a tracking system to monitor implementation and performance.

She urged participants to actively contribute to the development of a practical and comprehensive implementation plan that will guide health promotion activities over the coming years.

Earlier, the State Health Promotion Officer, Mallam Jibril AbdulKarim, outlined the workshop's objectives, which include aligning and adapting the National Health Promotion Framework to Kwara State's realities, developing a three-year operational roadmap, and establishing accountability, monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

He explained that the state's health promotion strategy integrates community outreach, immunisation, maternal and child health, nutrition and digital health solutions to improve healthcare delivery.

According to him, the strategy is designed to reach vulnerable populations through strong partnerships with stakeholders, with the overall goal of achieving universal health coverage, improving health outcomes and ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare.

Also speaking, the workshop consultant, Mr Olumide Adefioye, said participants would conduct a comprehensive SWOT analysis of the state's health promotion programmes to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats before developing the framework's vision, mission and strategic goals.

The three-day workshop brought together officials of the Kwara State Ministry of Health, development partners, health promotion experts, local government health promotion officers and other key stakeholders committed to strengthening health promotion and disease prevention efforts across the state.