Ex-minister advocates strategies for primary health care, SDGs

 Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogbobia (SAN), has said that strong public health policies, supporting a robust, well-funded and strategic primary health care deployment is one path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, which replaces Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, is a policy of the United Nations, UN, to achieve development in all ramifications, including health, education and road infrastructure globally, but, particularly in the developing countries, like Nigeria. 

He spoke at the Annual General Meeting/Scientific Conference of the Association of Resident Doctors/Lagos University Teaching Hospital (ARD/LUTH) with the theme: ‘Leaving No One Behind’: The Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria and how Healthcare can get us there.”

 Speaking further, he said, “although it is only SDG3, which explicitly relates to health by seeking to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, “I would submit to you that SDG 1 and 2 are perhaps as fundamental as SGD 3 for a developing country like Nigeria’s health care priorities.”

According to him, “SDG 1 seeks to end poverty in all its forms everywhere; while SDG 2 has the ending of hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture as its goal.

“In Nigeria, today, the number one cause of death and disability is still undoubtedly, poverty. Poverty, is indisputably the most significant cause of the intolerable and embarrassing statistics of infant and maternal mortality in Nigeria; for babies and infants dying from preventable communicable ailments: diseases, which would easily be prevented by a single timely vaccination; or diseases and deaths caused by lack of sanitation or clean water. But also of non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory ailments that can be treated and managed through an effective health care system.”

 He adds, “Beyond the dire environmental handicaps of the poor, access to basic medical care and to drugs to alleviate the burden of illness and disease, is also clearly severely constrained by poverty reflected in the high incidents of patients discharging themselves against medical advice on account being unable to afford the care.” 

President of the ARD LUTH, Dr. Akinkunmi Afolabi said there is need to make policies that will enable the achievement of SDGs.

 “To achieve the SDGs, healthcare must be well financed. The World Health Organisation (WHO), recommended that 15 per cent of the budget be set aside to fund  the health sector, but we’ve been falling short of that and so, we need to improve the budgetary allocation to healthcare.” 

According to him, “When we get that right, we will be able to achieve the SDGs. Universal Health Coverage will not be achieved if we don’t improve the budgetary allocation to the health sector.” 

The Africa Coordinator for SDG Awareness Campaign Tour (SDGACT), Mr. Oluwashola Adejoro, said all hands must be on deck to achieve the SDGs.

  He said, “The government, private organisations and individual, must get involved; so, we can have a monitoring scheme to achieve the SDGs.”

 He said that, “The fact is Nigeria is on point on its awareness campaign about the SDGs, but we are far behind on its implementation. We need to work harder to achieve the SDGs, so that there will be health for all.”