Lagos reaffirms Zero Tolerance for Quackery, strengthens Healthcare Oversight

The Lagos State Government has restated its resolve to guarantee safe and quality healthcare delivery through sustained regulation, monitoring and accreditation of health facilities across the state.

The renewed assurance was given by the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) during a community engagement forum aimed at sensitising residents on the agency’s statutory responsibilities and deepening public awareness of its oversight functions.

Speaking at the town hall meeting in Epe, the Permanent Secretary of HEFAMAA, Dr. Abiola Idowu, represented by the agency’s Director of Monitoring and Inspection, Dr. Olayinka Daniel, said the engagement was designed to bridge an existing communication gap between the agency and residents.

“The purpose of this meeting and sensitisation is to reach out to community members and educate them on the mandate of HEFAMAA.

“Over time, we realised that we had left behind the most important stakeholders -the community members.

“That is why we are organising this town hall meeting to engage directly with them and keep them informed about the activities of the agency, as well as the efforts of the government to ensure their safety in healthcare delivery and guarantee quality care in both public and private health facilities across Lagos,” the Permanent Secretary said.

Idowu explained that consistent monitoring and accreditation exercises remain critical to shielding residents from quackery and unsafe medical practices.

She added that community participation is central to strengthening compliance and ensuring that only approved facilities operate within the state.

As part of reforms to boost transparency and accountability, she said the agency has introduced a verification QR code system and an official HEFAMAA logo for accredited facilities.

According to the Permanent Secretary, the QR code allows residents to confirm, in real time, the accreditation status of any health establishment, while the logo serves as a visible indicator of compliance with regulatory standards.

She urged residents in the remaining local government areas to participate actively in subsequent engagements and warned against patronising unregistered facilities, noting that doing so could expose them to significant health risks.

In his remarks, the Vice Chairman of Epe Local Government, Sikiru Owolomose, lauded the agency’s outreach efforts and called for greater decentralisation to enhance grassroots collaboration.

He assured that the council would continue to partner with HEFAMAA to improve public awareness and promote safer healthcare practices within the community.