The Federal Government says Nigeria will need one trillion Naira to cater for the health of the vulnerable citizens across the country.
Dr Chris Isokpunwu, Secretary of the Ministerial Oversight Committee for BHCPF, Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), said this in Abuja at the Nigeria Health Commissioners’ Forum.
The theme of the event was “Financing Primary Health Care in Nigeria – Expanding the frontiers at the Sub-National”.
Isokpunwu said that the money would also enable the country to provide Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to vulnerable citizens. The BHCF allocation he said was based on equity, equality, and the indigent community, adding that It was also allocated based on the poverty index of each state.
According to him, there is need to demonstrate transparency, accountability, and results to get more funding.
He said in doing so, the BHCPF account was being audited and the disbursement of all funds published.
Mr Christoph Kurowski, Global Lead of Health Financing, World Bank Group, Nigeria, recalled that the journey of Primary Health Care (PHC) financing in the country started more than 40 years ago.
Kurowski said that for many high-income countries, the vision is for 80 per cent of the population’s healthcare needs to be met at the primary healthcare level.
The U.S Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Country Director, Dr Mary Boyd, called for a mechanism to assess communities’ health needs and ensure that people going to PHC received quality and equitable services.
Boyd said that PHC workers must be trained to understand data management and how it can affect public health in the country.
Earlier, Dr Banji Filani, Chairperson of Nigeria Health Commissioners’ Forum, said that the PHC Financing Forum aimed to bring together leaders at the sub-national level.
Filani, who is the Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Ekiti state, said that the forum would enable them to explore how to advance the primary healthcare agenda in the country.
SOURCE: The Pulse
