Kazeem Biriowo
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare has said that the present administration led by President Bola Tinubu was eager to lead Nigerians through positive health transformation with the attainment of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Pate disclosed this in Abuja during the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day Walk to commemorate the global health aspiration target to ensure nobody is left behind.
Pate also disclosed that the National Health Insurance Authority had made it mandatory for everyone to assess health care services to achieve the needed health transformation.
He said this will bring about investment to expand the quality of healthcare services that Nigerians access through the primary healthcare systems and hospitals.
“We expect that states will complement with the participation of every stakeholder, to ensure that the society is healthier.
“This action requires that everyone has access to quality healthcare services that are affordable.
“UHC day which is marked every December 12 is used to stress the need for a healthcare system that provides equitable and good health care with financial protection to everyone,” he said.
Pate, therefore, urged Nigerians to take care of their health, ensure that they keep fit, eat well and also exercise for good health.
Also, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Tunji Alausa, reiterated the Federal government’s readiness to synergise with the subnational government
He said: ”We are not going to leave the states alone we are going to work with WHO, that is why later today, we are going to be signing a pact with the state, a pact is what we are going to be doing, the role of the Federal Government, once we began to work together, we have met with the governors forum and we met with the governors
“The way we are pushing forward, there will be progress in the Health sector. We intend to engage with the citizen in order to express their opinion. We want to expand the line of citizen engagement we have now. This will help us to collect proper data”.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) representative, Dr Walter Mulombo, explained that the walk was to create awareness and remind everyone that the world was lagging behind in providing universal coverage to the population.
“It is an opportunity for us to rethink the way we do our business and associate towards universal coverage for everyone.”
According to him, WHO alongside other partners will support the country in finding solutions to most of its health challenges.
will like to mention here that the new investment initiative by Nigeria and the swap that accompanies, it is an example of how a government can align with the international best practices.
“WHO will be joining on the pact today to express our commitment alongside UN agencies and partners to support Nigeria to accelerate health, this is the time for action.
“As I said we have seen over the years that what we have been doing didn’t work not only in Africa but globally so there is a need to re-strategise in order to accelerate health.
“The new investment in Nigeria will change the hope because Nigeria matters. If we can do it in Nigeria, it would influence Africa and also a ripple effect globally”.
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