The chief executive officer of the Public Health Impact Research Centre, Dr. Mininim Oseji has tasked the Nigerian government to develop health system strategies that will help in building a resilient health system in the country.
She made this call in her keynote address at the 63rd National Council on Health (NCH) themed “Building a Resilient and Sustainable Health System for Improved Health Outcomes and Universal Health Coverage (UHC)”, yesterday (December 5, 2022) in Abuja.
Oseji said for Nigeria to have a resilient health system, it must spend more at the community level where the disease burden is greatest.
The expert said that the country must use policies to ensure that healthcare services are continually improved by stepping down training and encouraging positive outcomes.
She said that the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) is one of the most potent social security interventions in the country aimed at attaining UHC.
“We must mitigate every man-made challenge affecting the BHCPF implementation to realise the gains of the project,” Oseji explained.
She said opportunities abound to advance the country’s healthcare system, beginning with identifying areas of common ground.
“We can have an Africa that is self-reliant about evidence-based interventions that promote health, prevent disease and prolong life,” the expert added.
Similarly, the officer in charge, WHO Nigeria, Dr. Mie Okamura said the health organisation would depend on the strategic guidance of the health sector plan, which would be enriched by the outcomes of the 63rd NCH, to translate these into the Nigeria Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) and contribute to advances towards the 2024-2025 programme budget.
Okamura said the WHO has enjoyed the excellent cooperation of the Federal Government and the 36 states in achieving its mandate of promoting health, keeping the world safe and serving Nigeria’s most vulnerable.
“We have also received overwhelming support and resources from donors, other developing partners, civil society organizations, the academia, the private sector, and communities for which we are most grateful,” she said.
Science Nigeria reports that the 63rd NCH commenced with a technical session chaired by the permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), to discuss memos that will be presented to the council for consideration.
The 63rd NCH is organised by FMOH and the FCTA Health and Human Service Secretariat to discuss the State of Public Health in the country.
The 2014 National Health Act recognises the NCH as the highest policy-making body within the Nigerian health sector.
Responsibilities of NCH include protection, promotion, improvement, maintenance of the health of Nigerians and formulation of policies.
