By Jonathan Lois
The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the health sector and allocate significant votes to it in the 2024 budget estimates.
It also urged the Federal Ministry of Health to encourage states to resuscitate the comatose primary healthcare programme at the grassroots level and provide qualitative and affordable medicare for the masses.
The House further urged the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with State Ministries, Local Governments, and other stakeholders, to establish a task force to eradicate medical malpractice, particularly in rural areas.
It said the stakeholders should furnish the Committee on Healthcare Services with the summary reports in evaluating the standard of the primary Healthcare Centres from 2016-2022.
The House mandated the Committee on Healthcare Services, to oversight their activities to ascertain the real state of the Primary Healthcare Centres across the country.
It also mandated the Committees on Healthcare Services, and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance.
These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion titled, “Need for the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA) to collaborate with Relevant Health Agencies in States and Local Governments to ensure the functionality of Primary Healthcare Centres’ sponsored by Hon. Fayinka Moses Oluwatoyin.
The House noted that Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of over $430 billion and a 213 million population, and is projected to double by 2050, putting pressure on the health sector.
The House was concerned that Nigeria’s primary healthcare sector faces alarmingly high rates of dilapidated facilities.
It said it is estimated that Nigeria has about 39,983 hospitals and clinics as of 2020, with the primary Healthcare Centres accounting for about 34,000 which is 86%, however, only 20% of these primary Healthcare Centres are functional, particularly in rural areas lacking adequate facilities and staffing.
The House was also concerned that the lack of medical equipment, drugs, qualified personnel, electrical systems, beds, and road networks has increased the death toll in healthcare centers, necessitating revitalization with a budget of 80 million dollars for additional bed spaces.
It worried that the military regime of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and Prof. Olikoye Ransome Kuti has led to a 70% decline in primary healthcare, with many centres falling into disuse.
The House was alarmed that the Federal and State Health Ministries inaccurate representation of primary healthcare centres hinders proper budgeting and access to quality healthcare in rural areas, leading to premature deaths.
