Why budgets for child, family health should be increased
Yesterday the National Assembly commenced a public hearing on the proposed 2017 budget submitted to the legislature by President Muhammadu Buhari. It is important for the House to increase the proposed 2017 health budget especially in the areas of family health.
Nigeria still has high maternal mortality rate and under five deaths. Increasing funding for child and family health services at national and state levels will not only improve maternal and child health but also the national health outcomes.
The key areas of family health that should be revsited and increased include nutrition, routine immunisation, family planning and maternal newborn and child health.
The response to the health needs of under fives and women of reproductive age group by a country’s health system goes a long way to show not just only its strenght and responsivess but also its health ooutcomes.
2017 proposed health budget
Last week the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Lanre Tejuosho said the National Assembly will increase the budgetary allocation to health in the proposed 2017 national budget to 15 percent in line with the 2001 African Union Abuja declaration.
While Nigerians cheered at the news, they also hope that the National Assembly will live up to that promise because the poor budgetary allocation to the health sector has continued to be a bane to quality healthcare service delivery in the country with its attendant very poor health indices.
There is urgent need to up the ante and change the status quo of health financing at all levels of governance if the country must do away with the many preventable deaths especially of women and children, as well as address the persistent medical tourism that trickles right from the doorstep of the leadership down to the citizens who can afford it.
The allocation of N304billion, representing 4.17% of the total budget to health, a negligible improvement on the 2016 approved health budget of 4.13% is not only grossly inadequate but falls short of 15% Abuja Declaration.
According to Kyauta B. Tanyigna of the Directorate of Research , National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru Nigeria has failed in its leadership role in Africa by refusing to set aside the 15% allocation of its budget to the health sector since 2001.
He said: “This has become more worrisome considering that the agreement was reached