President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of Health,
Ali Pate, to de-emphasise speaking about the health sector’s challenges and
rather engage with development partners to birth new reforms that would improve
the health and well-being of Nigerians.
Tinubu bared his mind when he had an audience with the
minister at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday, specifically directing
Pate to pursue a very ambitious sector-wide programme that would improve
population health outcomes, using the basic healthcare provision fund as a
basis for reviving the primary health care system.
Tinubu also told Pate to explore ways of enhancing seamless
working relationships between state governments, community leaders, and
traditional leaders to ensure that Nigerians get better quality services to
deal with the issues that bother them, whether it’s malaria, immunisation,
maternal and child health, or reproductive health, among others.
Pate, who met with the President in the company of Prof
Seniat Fisseha, a development partner under the auspices of the Susan-Buff
Foundation, assured that going forward, plans are underway to design a social
action fund to reach communities.
He said they would work to get the trust of the community
dwellers, through which they would be empowered and supported to solve issues
that are very simple but afflicting many of the people at the grassroots level.
“While having an audience with the President, we discussed
some important issues regarding Nigerians’ health and social well-being. As we
all know, the President is very committed and has directed that we do all we
can to improve the health and well-being of all Nigerians as part of his
renewed hope agenda.
”Accordingly, in recent days, he
has approved three important steps for us to move forward and has asked us to
talk less and do more. And in that spirit, he, in fact, has asked us to pursue
a very ambitious sector-wide programme to improve population health outcomes,
using the basic healthcare provision fund as a basis for reviving our primary
healthcare system, working with state governments and community leaders,
traditional leaders to ensure that Nigerians get better quality services to
deal with the issues that bother them, whether it’s malaria, whether it’s
immunisation, maternal and child health, reproductive health—those are elements
that have a direct bearing on the health and well-being of Nigerians, with the
state governments and with our development partners.
“So that sector-wide programme is underway, and our visitor
today is committed to working with us to work with countries systems, not set
up parallel systems. And we’re very glad that the Susan-Buffett Foundation is
willing to partner with the Government of Nigeria to advance the health and
well-being of all, especially our adolescent girls and women.
“The second item is to unlock the value chain in the
healthcare space. Mr President has also approved a presidential initiative to
unlock the healthcare value chain that will help drive the medical
industrialisation agenda with clear targets.
“It will require the public and private sectors to work hand
in hand. Government does what it needs to do to provide the enabling
environment and the private sector getting his act together to ensure that we
produce the things critical for Nigeria’s health and well-being while creating
economic value and creating jobs,” Pate told State House correspondents.
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