By Hassan Zaggi
The Special Adviser to the President on Health, Dr Salma Anas-Kolo, has said that the country can only make progress in the health sector if experts work as a team.
She, however, insisted that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government is committed to delivering on its promises in the health sector.
Speaking at a Health Policy Dialogue in Abuja, yesterday, she frown at the way and manner health workers most times don’t work in harmony for the collective interest of the patient.
Every member of the health team, according to her, is important to the well-being of the patient who is at the centre.
The policy dialogue was organised by UHC 2023 Forum which is championed by Chief Moji Makanjuola, with the theme: “Setting UHC and Health Security Priorities in the New Dispensation: Getting it Right from the Outset”.
The Special Adviser said that the federal government under the leadership of President Tinubu will prioritise health security and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria.
According to Dr Salma: “Tinubu’s Blueprint on Health which he presented to Nigerians during his electioneering campaigns would be implemented.
“The president is committed to changing the health system of the country for good. His administration would prioritize health security and UHC.”
Earlier, the Country Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Nigeria, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, applauded the commitment of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration to adopt recommendations in the Presidential Health Reform Committee report articulated in 6 components.
The implementation of the six components, he said, “will see the health system strengthened to meet present day challenges including reorientation of PHC for improved service delivery, improved preparedness and response to pandemics and other health emergencies, and rethinking of solutions to the huge challenge of ensuring adequate, skilled and well distributed health care workers in the midst of rising migration of the critical professionals.”
According to him, “a keen review of the details in these 6 components revealed a significant concurrence with the Citizen’s Health agenda and indeed.
“Further, this reform recommendations aligns well with various WHA resolutions and strategies which the WHO DG has articulated in 5 key priorities.”
Earlier in her address of the welcome, the convener and Chair of UHC2023 Forum, Mrs Moji Makanjuola, noted that the forum was convened with a view to “articulating available evidence on policy reforms in Nigeria and forging a consensus on health and health security priorities in the light of available evidence.”
