Blame govs for failure of healthcare sector – Minister
…Names 14 states withholding N100m Basic Healthcare Provision Fund
…Bemoans epileptic power, inadequate water supply in hospitals
Tunde Opalana, Abuja
Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has blamed state governors for the deteriorating health care services in the country.
The minister also said 14 states of the federation are yet to enlist their states for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund by failing to pay N100 million, adding that they are consequently unable to access the N55.15 billion earmarked for primary healthcare in the country.
The states are Kebbi, Jigawa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Gombe, Rivers, Borno, Zamfara, Ondo, Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa, Ogun and Sokoto.
The National Assembly had earmarked N55.15 billion in the 2018 budget as one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.
He said that 22 states have so far registered for the scheme, while he listed the requirements for accessing the fund to include presence of state healthcare development agency, state health insurance scheme and counterpart fund of N100 million.
He said he had also visited the Nigeria Governors Forum and had personal interactions with the affected governors on the need to key into the Fund but to no avail.
Addressing the Senate at plenary on Tuesday, Prof. Adewole pleaded with the Senate to intervene by calling state governors to take healthcare service provision as a priority.
Recall that the Senate two weeks ago summoned Adewole to brief the legislature on the deteriorating state of medical facilities and healthcare provision at teaching hospitals across the country.
Adewole emphasised the need for state governments to invest in secondary healthcare to take care of primary and secondary healthcare issues.
The minister said it is unfortunate that Tertiary health care at teaching hospitals is overburdened because some state governments have failed in their responsibility in providing primary and secondary healthcare services.
The minister lamented that most states have abandoned primary and secondary health care, resulting in over-crowding of tertiary institutions.
According to him, the collapse of primary and secondary health care centres have led to patients visiting tertiary health institutions for ailments like headache, malaria, and high blood pressure among others.
Nigeria currently has 59 tertiary institutions. The breakdown includes 22 teaching hospitals, 20 federal medical centres and 17 specialist hospitals.
Adewole said epileptic power supply and inadequate water supply are the major challenges of most tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
The minister said it was not true that health services in teaching hospitals are deteriorating, but over-crowding because states have abandoned primary and secondary health care.
Expressing regret that people now visit tertiary health institutions for headache, malaria, high blood pressure, he called for increase in power supply because diesel consumption gulps a lot of funds.
