The National Economic Council, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja during its 137th meeting, gave approval for the comprehensive overhaul of 17,000 primary healthcare centers and 774 secondary healthcare centers nationwide.
The decision came in response to identified funding deficiencies and the declining healthcare indicators, as highlighted in a presentation by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, to the council.
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State outlined the government’s approach to State House Correspondents following the meeting.
He conveyed insights from Pate’s presentation, emphasizing the dire condition of the health sector and the need for comprehensive assessments, stating,“The presentation…dissected in terms of very robust sector scan on health, from the tertiary to the primary level, looking at all the gaps, the problems and challenges of funding.”
Expressing concern over the concerning figures indicating a decline in health indicators, including infant mortality rates, he highlighted the Tinubu-led administration’s objective to foster collaboration among stakeholders for significant and enduring reforms.
Therefore, he announced that the scope of the renewal of the programme intends to “service 17,000 primary health centers to be put on a threshold of viability, 774 secondary facilities, that is hospitals, in addition to some tertiary institutions.”
This comprehensive plan is designed to “make sure medicare is brought close to the majority of Nigerians,” Mohammed added.
On the source of funding, Governor Mohammed revealed that “suggestions were made…that we could use some taxes from communication, from airlines, as well as our taxes from the state government” to bridge the financial gaps plaguing the healthcare system.
Emphasizing the significant shortage of healthcare professionals, he highlighted the substantial issue of human capital deficit and the loss of experts. He stressed the urgency of formulating strategies to retain local talent within the healthcare sector.
The Governor remarked, “Undoubtedly, we face a significant challenge with human capital scarcity and the departure of experts. It’s imperative to devise a strategy to retain our skilled professionals for the betterment of our healthcare sector.”
The Governor said, “Certainly, we have a huge problem of human capital and attrition of experts and the need to develop a strategy to retain our experts to care for our health sector.
“So the presentation is a robust compact that looked at all the problems and challenges of the health sector, from financing, the human capital, from the supervisory point of view, and even on the leadership level, from the presidency to the local governments and the need for us as governors, local government even media, to put interest in the health sector.”
