The Bayelsa Health Summit: strategizing for health at a subnational level in Nigeria

Nigeria is falling short of global targets for universal health coverage (UHC) and the country's journey toward the accelerated achievement of UHC is dependent on progress made by all its subnational governments. The Bayelsa State Health Summit (BSHS) was organized by a subnational government in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria to deepen the understanding of the state's health system and to strategize for improved health outcomes. In this article we share our experience with the planning, organization and outcomes of the BSHS. The BSHS titled 'Achieving Improved Health Systems Performance through Strategic Planning and Stakeholder Engagement' was held for 3 d in April 2021. More than 1800 participants across diverse national and international organizations deliberated and made recommendations across the summit theme and subthemes. At the end of the summit, the state government and summit participants resolved to enact a state health law, to develop and adopt a state 10-y health system improvement plan and to establish a Bayelsa Centre for Disease Control. The BSHS exposed the context-specific needs, challenges and expectations of the Bayelsa health system. It served as a platform for extensive stakeholder engagement and buy-in and fostered high-level political commitment for the transformation of the Bayelsa health system.