By Hassan Zaggi
The Federal Government is currently working hard to strengthen its public health security in order to be better prepared to confront future health emergencies and also improve routine health towards achieving the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, stated this while making a presentation at the ongoing World Health Organisation (WHO) AFRO 72 Regional Committee for Africa in Lome, Togo.
The meeting is holding between 22nd and 26th August, 2022 .
He, however, called on African countries to increase regional manufacturing capacity of essential medicines and other health consumables.
In a statement signed by the Deputy Director/Head (Media and Publicity) of the Federal Ministry of Health, Ahmadu A. Chindaya, the Minister lamented that the journey so far has not been easy for the African sub region due to high dependency on imported goods and the impact of COVID-19 on overseas manufacturers, which, according to him, spend soaring prices and shortages of goods, where Africa was at the bottom of the priority list for commodities and vaccines.
“Africa must increase regional manufacturing capacity of essential health items,” Ehanire stressed.
He stated that Nigeria is among the countries still battling to recover from the social and economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to control it.
“Nigeria has improved and expanded it’s public laboratory networks, intensive care units, isolation centres and increased oxygen production capacity to build back better,” the Minister said while reiterating the preparedness efforts of the government to confront both current and future challenges.
Ehanire revealed that government under the health sector reform is increasingly improving it’s services and capacity especially under the Primary Health Care (PHC), crowning it with signing of the new National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act, which makes health care insurance mandatory.
