Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has declared the second edition of the National
Health Dialogue opened with live debates expected on various challenges
facing the health sector of the country.
Osinbajo opened the dialogue organised by the Premium Times, an online
Nigerian paper, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The Vice President, who was represented by his Chief Medical Officer, Dr
Chiedo Nwankwo said the Nation’s priorities were messed up and there was
no truer statement.
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that the dialogue theme is:
“Universal Health Coverage” The role of State and Non-State Actors in
Healthcare funding and support.
Dr Muhammad Dogo, Former Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance
Scheme (NHIS), in his keynote address, showed various statistics that Nigeria
was already off track in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dogo said achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) under the current
situation in Nigeria was most challenging.
He also listed other challenges stopping Nigeria from achieving UHC by 2030
to include lack of Implementation of various programmes that would have
helped in achieving UHC.
Emir of Gombe, HRH Alhaji Abubakar Shehu III, spoke on the role of
traditional institutions in achieving UHC for Women and Children in the past
and currently in the country.
He explained how the British and other colonialists used traditional rulers in
administering, which further helped in improving the health sector.
He, however, assured that traditional rulers have an advocacy role to play in
driving UHC in the country.
The Emir advocated extensive investment by the government and Nigerians in
rural areas for rural communities to access quality healthcare delivery.
In his lecture, Dr Chiedo Nwankwo, a health expert, on “Journey towards
achieving SDG three point eight, (3.8) – UHC and the paths towards achieving
its success,” said Nigeria had failed to properly fund the health sector,
She said the country has failed to meet the 15 per cent Abuja declaration of
2001.
Nwankwo said that Nigeria was one of the worst places for maternal, newborn
child care in the world, stressing that the figures were startling.
She, however, said that children under five years of age were still dying from
preventable diseases every five minutes in Africa, according to the World
Health Organisation (WHO).
Nwanwko said the vulnerable groups should be covered by the appreciable
amount of health subsidies and insurance.
According to her, the poor and vulnerable groups should be carried along.
“They should not spend the little they have on health and get impoverished in
their quest for quality health care,” she advised.
She appealed to the Federal Government to take a bold step in driving change
in the health sector.
