Why Tinubu govt must declare a state of emergency in health sector – Reps

By Hannah Nathan, Warri

The House of Representatives has asked the federal government to declare the health sector to be in a state of emergency and to give it a large amount of funding in the budget forecasts for 2024.

This came after Rep. Fayinka Oluwatoyin (APC-Lagos) made a motion in the plenary.

“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 Centers,” was the title of the motion.

Oluwatoyin, a representative for Lagos State’s Mushin Federal Constituency II, remarked that despite having the continent’s largest population, Nigeria suffered from disturbingly high rates of deteriorated healthcare services.

According to him, Nigeria would have roughly 39,983 hospitals and clinics by the year 2020, with primary healthcare facilities making up about 34,000 of those, or 86 percent.

However, he claimed that only 20% of these primary healthcare institutions are actually operational, especially in remote areas with inadequate facilities and staff.

He said that the death toll in hospitals had increased due to a lack of beds, electrical systems, medical equipment, medications, skilled staff, and road networks.

He also said that this called for revitalization with a $80-million budget for more beds.

According to him he said that the misrepresentation of primary healthcare facilities by the Federal and State Health Ministries hampered proper financing and access to high-quality treatment in rural areas.

He claimed that this frequently results in untimely deaths.

In its decision, the House encouraged the Federal Ministry of Health to support state efforts to revive the nation’s collapsing primary healthcare initiatives.

It encouraged the ministry to offer quality healthcare for the general public at a reasonable price.

The House additionally requested the Federal Ministry of Health to form a task force to end acute medical misconduct in cooperation with State ministries, LGAs, and other stakeholders.

He argued that this should focus on rural areas in particular and provide the Committee on Healthcare Services with summary reports for assessing the caliber of primary healthcare facilities from 2016 to 2022.