The Federal Government has said it is working towards enrolling two million Nigerians in the nation’s health insurance scheme through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.
The government also said it had embarked on other initiatives aimed at strengthening the healthcare system, including expanding primary healthcare to 8,800 Primary Health Care Centers across all 36 states and establishing a national emergency medical transportation committee.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, who spoke at the medical palliative tour of FCT Mandate Secretary of Health, at Gwarimpa General Hospital in Abuja yesterday, noted that the health and well-being of Nigerians were central to President Bola Tinubu’s agenda which he said the government had been working hard to achieve.
The medical palliatives, launched by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), was aimed at supporting pregnant women and mothers, as part of efforts to improve healthcare delivery for indigenes in the nation’s capital.
The medical palliatives include items to support safe delivery, protect against malaria, and provide multiple micronutrient supplements to build strong bodies.
The minister said: “We are committed to improving healthcare delivery in Nigeria, and we will continue to work tirelessly to achieve this goal.
”We urge all stakeholders, including states, health workers, development partners, and the private sector, to work together to deliver healthcare to Nigerians”.
He also explained that the medical palliatives were designed to address the critical needs of pregnant women and mothers who were the backbone of society.
Prof Pate emphasized the importance of decentralizing healthcare services, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their location, had access to quality healthcare.
“We encourage all states to replicate this effort and deliver healthcare to Nigerians in both rural and urban areas.
“We are committed to improving healthcare delivery in Nigeria, and we will continue to work tirelessly to achieve this goal.
”We urge all stakeholders, including states, health workers, development partners, and the private sector, to work together to deliver healthcare to Nigerians”, he said.
On the cholera outbreak in the country, Pate said: “We have deployed resources and established a ministerial task force to respond to public health emergencies. We will not relent in our efforts to keep Nigerians safe”.
Speaking also on the government’s efforts at tackling malnutrition, Prof Pate said: “We are tackling malnutrition through ready-to-use therapeutic foods and multiple micronutrient supplements”.
We recognize the significance of nutrition in building strong bodies and healthy minds”.
Also speaking at the event, FCT Mandate Secretary of Health Services and Environment, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, explained that the motivation behind the initiative was to address the challenges faced by Nigerians in accessing quality healthcare.
She said: “We have a government that is not ignorant of the situation, and we have been working to provide palliatives to alleviate the suffering of our citizens.
“The medical palliatives we are providing are not just treating the symptoms, but are a quick fix to address the immediate needs of our patients.
“We have realized that many of our patients are spending money on medicine that they should be using to buy food, and this is competing with their basic needs.
“We have come together to demand action and have written a memo to the Minister, who will not approve any initiative without a sustainability plan.
“We have convinced him that the health insurance scheme for the vulnerable can support our medical palliative scheme.
“What we have done today is proof that this can work and is sustainable. We are committed to making this initiative a success and ensuring that it stays.
“Our medical palliative team will be visiting Gwarimpa General Hospital, and every single treatment, including medicines and tests, will be free for everyone who comes today”.
