Boss Mustapha,
secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), says it is time for
Nigeria’s healthcare system to be taken seriously, especially now that nobody
can seek medical care outside the country.
On Thursday,
Mustapha had said his role as chairman of the presidential task force on
COVID-19 opened his eyes to the poor state of Nigeria’s healthcare
infrastructure.
At a briefing on
Friday, the SGF said the government at all levels have not been doing as they
ought ought to.
“Primary health
systems are exclusively the responsibility of the local government, the
secondary health system, that’s where the state comes in. The federal
government has responsibility only for the tertiary. But over the years, there
has been abdication of responsibilities, you find the federal government even
investing in the primary healthcare system. That’s why we have an agency,” he
said.
“If you look at the
total aggregate of the commitment of the government to health, it might not be
15% but we are near that.
“By the nature of
our politics, even at the federal level, you find constituency projects that
are primary health clinics. If you are to get the number of primary health
clinics we have all over Nigeria, it’s over 10,000, but how many of them are
working?
“So, it is a major
issue, and that was part of my address yesterday when I spoke to the national
assembly. We need to sit back and reconstruct our investments into the
healthcare system. The federal government is doing a lot. Right now, there is a
provision of 1% from the consolidated revenue fund which goes to the basic
health care provision funds. I think it’s domiciled in the primary health care
agency for distribution, the different sectors of our health system.
“We are doing good
but not as good as we ought to. Investments into our healthcare infrastructure
must be looked at, seriously. Right now nobody can go elsewhere to seek medical
attention, so probably this is the right moment we have to be reflective and
sit back and begin to address these issues. Nobody ever thought you couldn’t go
anywhere to seek medical attention. Three months ago if you were told, you
would not, it would not happen. But we are all confined here now.”
He added that he
believes that this period would help in reflecting on how Nigeria deploys its
resources going forward as a nation, with a focus on the basics that touches
the lives of the people.
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