Press Release

Leading US University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Partners with Ekiti State to Establish Health Innovation Accelerator

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Ado-Ekiti, November 30, 2021 – The Government of Ekiti State and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Governance Lab (MIT/GOVLAB) on Tuesday formally launched the Governance Innovation Lifecycle Challenge and Accelerator, a program designed to improve healthcare service delivery in the state.

Speaking during the launch of the programme, the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr John Kayode 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’ve done this knowing fully well that investments in health yield 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 program, 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’s health system and resilience.

The Honourable 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 (2) 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’s 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, Carlos Centeno, Associate Director of Innovation at MIT GOV/LAB said that the accelerator will implement the methodology of its novel Governance Innovation Framework with the teams for an eight-month period. The program will provide holistic support from knowledge building through solution development. At the end of the accelerator phase, the selected prototype will be developed into a full-fledged technology product.

The aim of this framework is to improve the provision of public services, respond to the needs of citizens, increase government effectiveness and drive positive change in individual and collective behaviors,” he said.

Ms Chika Akintan, the Vice President of People Operations at Gatefield, said; “This achievement is a testament to the foundation-building work that the Ministry of Health in Ekiti State has done. The process of selecting a state partner was rigorous. We considered multiple factors that include political will, technical acumen of the leadership team, the preparedness for innovation and the level of challenge & opportunity. Ekiti State ticked all of these boxes. We found a clear understanding of the challenges and an evidence-based diagnosis of the health sector with a roadmap that prioritized innovation.”

The programme will also provide benefits to the staff at the State Ministry of Health who will receive a certificate upon the completion of the accelerator.

For more information on this programme, contact:

Adewale Obelewaji; +234 703 084 5354

Information Officer

Ekiti State Ministry of Health and Human Services

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