….Declares award to journalists
By Hassan Zaggi
Nigerian Academy of Medicine (NAMed) has insisted that the effort by the federal government to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) will be a mirage if the health sector is not adequately funded.
Speaking while declaring open the annual conference of the association, in Abuja, the president of NAMed, Professor Samuel Ohaegbulam, called on the Federal Government to increase funding for the health sector to, at least, 15% to fulfill the 2001 Abuja Declaration.
The conference was supported by dRPC.
He, however, appealed to the FCT Minister to allocate land for the Academy to raise a befitting office complex for the group.
He described inadequate funding as a hurdle in the effort of the federal government to improve primary healthcare, mother and child care, or mental health and others.
Ohaegbulam observed that current federal budget for health is equivalent to that of a single hospital in developed countries, and that crash in value of the naira has further worsened matters.
He noted that consequences of neglecting the sector are obvious and have escalated medical tourism, brain drain, unemployment, and decline in quality of healthcare.
He said the academy, by virtue of its unique position, must do everything possible to drive initiative for rescuing the sector.
Presenting a communiqué at the end of the conference, the Secretary of NAMed, Prof. Oluwoke Atoyebi, identified development of a national policy framework, strengthening regulatory mechanisms, implementing interprofessional education, fostering a collaborative culture, embracing technology, and encouraging research and evaluation, as necessary measures to enhance interprofessional collaboration in the health sector in Nigeria.
NAMed in the communique called for the establishment of a robust primary healthcare system in Nigeria can serve as the foundation for developing a sustainable healthcare framework with favorable health outcomes.
It further noted that the Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) policy, spearheaded by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), is a reform agenda aimed at reversing fragmentation in primary health care delivery at sub-national levels and improving the efficiency of service delivery. With its potential to serve as a launch pad, the policy can pave the way for greater integration of primary health care services and ultimately optimize health outcomes in Nigeria.
“This PHCUOR policy was introduced in 2011 to improve the governance, financing, and management of primary health care (PHC) in Nigeria by integrating PHC services under one authority at the state level.
“The PHCUOR Scorecard 6 assessment conducted in 36 Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has shown noteworthy advancements in the establishment of the PHCUOR institutional framework. The national average score of Nigeria has increased from 73% in Scorecard 5 to 76% in Scorecard 6, indicating a positive trend. However, there is still a considerable gap to fill to reach the targeted score of 90%, and more work is required to achieve this goal,” the communique said.
He further announced that NAMed, in collaboration with Development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), has opened the Media Challenge Award, and is inviting health reporters covering primary healthcare to submit published entries of articles or documentaries produced since 2022.
