13/08/2026
BENUE STATE INAUGURATES 38-MEMBER DIGITAL HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE TO DRIVE HEALTH SECTOR REFORMS
Committee tasked with coordinating digitization, improving data use, and sustaining ongoing digital health rollout
The Benue State Government on Wednesday, 12th August, inaugurated the State Digital Health Implementation Committee during the ongoing 3-day Health Sector Joint Annual Review [JAR] workshop in Makurdi.
The inauguration signals the state’s formal alignment with the Federal Ministry of Health’s Nigeria Digital in Health Initiative, a national architecture designed to manage health facilities, health workers, and client information on a connected platform. Under the new system, a patient’s health record can follow them wherever they are treated across the country.
Inaugurating the committee on behalf of the Benue State Government, the Honorable Commissioner for Health & Human Services, Dr. Paul Ogwuche Ejeh, said the committee is critical to strengthening health information in Benue.
According to him, the mandate includes improving decision-making, reducing duplication of efforts, and ensuring that health services are guided by reliable and timely data.
“The responsibilities of the committee are very critical to ensuring strategic coordination, alignment among all the stakeholders and to support effective implementation of digital health initiatives in the State,” Dr. Ogwuche stated.
He charged the 38-member committee to work with “a strong spirit of collaboration, commitment and professionalism,” adding: “we must ensure that the solutions introduced are sustained properly, integrated and should translate to better outcome for the people of Benue State.”
The committee is chaired by the Honorable Commissioner for Health, with Mr. Cornelius Ayantse, the Digital in Health Focal Person, serving as Secretary.
Membership cuts across both public and private health sectors and includes the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Health, Executive Secretaries and Directors-Generals, Directors and program officers from health MDAs, NIMC, as well as State Coordinators of NPHCDA, WHO, UNICEF and Team leads of other development partners.
Dr. Ogwuche further disclosed that the Federal Government, through the Global Fund, is currently supporting digital health implementation in about 144 health facilities in Benue. He described the intervention as “an essential component of building a more efficient, accessible, sustainable and responsive health system for our state.”
Speaking in an interview, the State Coordinator of the World Health Organization, Dr. Mohammed Abdulkarim, said WHO remains the leading technical partner to the Benue State Ministry of Health, providing support to strengthen the health system.
He noted that the newly constituted committee will coordinate the operationalization of digitization across the health sector in Benue State.
Dr. Abdulkarim highlighted key benefits of adopting digital health, including incentive-based financing from the Federal Ministry of Health to drive the digitalization process, and a disbursement link for the Federal Government’s HOPE intervention program.
He stressed that the inauguration of the committee is one of the prerequisites for Benue State to access the funds.
The Nigeria Digital in Health Initiative was developed by the Federal Ministry of Health, approved by the National Council on Health, and endorsed by stakeholders nationally. It is expected to harmonize health data across states and improve service delivery nationwide.
With the committee now in place, Benue joins other states moving to integrate facility, worker, and patient data into the national digital health ecosystem ahead of the full rollout of the national platform.
GRACE AKURE
INFORMATION OFFICER
BENUE STATE PRIMARY HEALTH CARE BOARD
13/08/2026
