Saraki: Why our healthcare system can’t work

Senate President Bukola Saraki has said that for Nigeria to provide universal healthcare for all its citizens, its current disjointed healthcare set-up must be urgently reviewed. He spoke when the Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, briefed the leadership of the senate on the Community Health Influencers, Promoters and service providers (CHIPS) - a programme of the agency.

“I was a governor in my state for eight years and I have practical experience. If we have these pockets of projects scattered across different programs in the healthcare sector we will not achieve what we are meant to achieve. We must have something that is sustainable - something that we are sure will always be maintained, always have provisions for human resources and always have adequate funding. This must be a holistic approach,” Saraki was quoted in a statement by his Special Assistant on Print Media, Chuks Okocha.

He challenged all agencies under the Federal Ministry of Health to devise a comprehensive programme that integrates all existing healthcare ones in the country under one umbrella for better coordination and funding. He said the National Assembly would ensure that the health sector gets one percent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for healthcare.

Dr. Shuaib commended the senate president for his leadership in ensuring that the consolidated revenue fund is appropriated for primary healthcare in the 2018 budget.