By Hassan Zaggi
The Coordinator, African Health Budget Network (AHBN), Dr. Aminu Magashi, has appealed to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, to revive the monthly media parley which was introduced during the tenure of the former Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire.
He made the appeal when the newly elected executives of the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHEJ) paid his courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.
The delegation was led by the President of the Association, Mr. Joseph Kadiri.
The call, according to Dr. Magashi was because the monthly media parley provides the opportunity for the media to engage with the key actors in the health sector and then provide Nigerians with the update of current issues in the health sector.
He noted that AHBN was prepared to provide support as it has been doing to ensure the success of the monthly media parley.
“Since two years ago, we have been supporting the bimonthly press briefing at the Federal Ministry of Health, we found that briefing very productive and engaging in the sense that the minister of health and all the heads agencies and parastatals in the health will sit every two weeks or every month to update Nigerians on what is going on in the health sector including the COVID-19, the health security, the Family Planning (FP) and other problems in the health sector in the country.
“That engagement with the media on a monthly basis has become very productive and very useful in the country where citizens get to know everything that is happening in each aspect of health.
“I think it is important to revive that press briefing with the Coordinating Minister of health and the state Minister of health and all directors and heads of MDAs to provide updates to the media who will inturn update Nigeria.”
