The Government of Japan has pledged the sum of $18.2 million in support to Nigeria’s health sector.
The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mr Clem Agba, made this known during an assessment visit over the utilisation of the N49 billion intervention fund disbursed by the FG to 52 federal health institutions, at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital on Tuesday.
The Minister said: “We also work with USAID and I signed those agreements where they also gave us 200 ventilators. I am aware that Irrua Specialist Hospital got three and the UBTH also got three from the 200 ventilators that we spread throughout the country.”
Speaking further, Agba disclosed that the N49 billion released for Healthcare during the pandemic came as a necessity to equip hospitals and build up-to-date infrastructure in the sector including 10 bedded Intensive Care Unit (ICU), isolation centre equipment and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), among others.
“Yes, we had some initial losses, but we have learnt from those and I am sure from what I have seen here that the government has been able to assist you to build that capacity,” he said.
“We hope there wouldn’t be a third wave of the pandemic. However, if there were to be, we have now learnt a lot of lessons on how to handle the pandemic, unlike the situation we had early last year when it started.
“We are also now better equipped to do testing. In some of the hospitals I have gone to, they told me this is the first time they were seeing molecular laboratory,” he added.
Recall that the Federal Government revealed it plans to launch a responsive National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System in a bid to improve universal healthcare in the country.
