Chijioke Iremeka
Medical experts say the government’s approach to the World Health Organisation’s health advancement in the country shows that healthcare must be considered a political priority and an integral part of any political agenda in Nigeria.
They said that the coming on board of a new government led by President Bola Tinubu and the appointment of new ministers to run the country’s healthcare system, provide a great opportunity for the country to be well handled.
According to the President of the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria, Professor Oladapo Ashiru, the new Minister of Health, Professor Mohammed Pate, would focus on producing additional advisory to the Federal Government in achieving its health objectives for the country, for a positive impact.
The advice came ahead of the Academy’s convocation of six newly elected Fellows and one Emeritus Fellow, slated for October 27 to 28, 2023, with the theme, ‘Mainstreaming of Health in All Sectors for Achieving Universal Health Coverage.’
Ashiru, who is also the Managing Director, Medical Art Centre, Lagos, said until now, Nigeria had a weak health system, which is not primed to achieve any of the health-related Sustainable Health Development Goals targets, especially the Universal Health Coverage.
He noted that there are some existing policies, strategies, programmes and activities that if fine-tuned and well implemented, can help to strengthen Nigeria’s health system and enable it to deliver good health outcomes.
“There are also existing structures and health financing strategies such as the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund that can be enabled for the strengthening of the health system. Hence, the expectations of the new Minister of Health are massive and Nigerians are looking forward to a massively improved health system that is resilient,” he said.
Professor Ashiru said being able to achieve national and global health targets such as UHC and ensure some massive improvements in health outcomes, would be a great feat for the masses, who are seeking a better and transformed healthcare system in Nigeria.
However, the academy recommended that since all the health systems’ building blocks are weak, a whole system appraisal and strengthening will be required; and health should be mainstreamed in all sectors for increased resource mobilisation and for addressing the social determinants of health.
The AMSN also said that the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Health Sector Reform, March 2023, should be distilled, prioritised and implemented.
It noted that the report of the Lancet Nigeria Commission provided some recommendations on high impact areas of intervention that should be implemented by the Federal Ministry of Health.
The academy held that the 2014 National Health Act; 2016 National Health Policy; National Strategic Health Development Plan 2; Primary Healthcare Under One Roof; National Health Insurance Authority Act and National Drug Policy, among others should be reviewed and fully implemented.
It urged the FG to institutionalise research culture in health policymaking by strategically funding health research and development as well as instituting mechanisms and structures for the use of evidence from research for decision making.
The AMSN said the government should institute strategies for reversing medical tourism through aggressive three-tier health investments/human resource optimisation; expand primary healthcare reach, quality, and water/sanitation; address corruption in the health sector; expand the BHCPF to cover all PHC facilities in the wards; implement minimum standards for PHC PHCUOR to the letter, and to use strategic purchasing for procuring health benefit packages in social health insurance and yearly budgets.
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