Govt. Agencies, Parastatals, Key To Achieving Universal Health Coverage In Kaduna

Philip Daniel Yatai
Dec, Wed, 2023

Health

Govt. agencies, parastatals, key to achieving universal health coverage in Kaduna – SCI

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By Sani Idris

Save the Children International (SCI), says government agencies and parastatals are key to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Kaduna State and Nigeria in general.

Mr Ifedilichukwu Innocent, the Advocacy Campaign and Policy Manager of SCI, Abuja Office said this on Tuesday in Kaduna at a public dialogue in commemoration of the 2023 International UHC Day.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the day is officially designated by the UN to raise awareness on the need for strong, equitable, and resilient health systems.

NAN also reports that the theme of this year’s day 2023 is: “Health for all: Time for action”.

Innocent stressed that the agencies of government and parastatals have roles which were defined within the National Health Acts as to what they needed to do to promote health in the state.

He, therefore, said SCI was working with the government structures to achieve its mandate.

Innocent said, “We are working with these structures to achieve their mandate. We will continue doing that because that is how we are structured.

“Our responsibility is to support the government in putting in policies and structures, strategies and plans that will bring health to all Nigerians especially to hard reach Nigerians in rural areas.”

Accessing Kaduna State in achieving UHC, Innocent said the health budgeting in the state, which in the 2022 met the Abuja 15 per cent declaration, however had the challenge of cash backing.

He commended the state for its glaring political willingness to do the needful, which made it meet the 15 per cent Abuja declaration.

“If we should look at the cash backing and releases, there may be other political issues related to that, which is why we are working closely with agencies of the government to ensure that the policies and plans that they put in place are properly cost and funded,” he said.

Innocent expressed optimism that CSI would have the opportunity to work closely with the present administration in 2024 to ensure release of more funding or proper utilisation of the available ones to meet the quality health services for all the citizens living in the state.

Also, Mr Farouk Abdulkadir, the Advocacy and Campaign Coordinator for SCI, Kaduna Field Office, said UHC priorities ensure that “everyone, everywhere no matter their socio-economic status have access to quality essential health services without suffering financial hardship.”

He stressed that SCI in Kaduna State planned to leverage the day to advocate increased domestic public investment in health and adopt nationally appropriate spending targets.

He also said SCI prioritised primary health care as a cost-effective and equitable investment for both universal health coverage and the future of health security.

Mayana restated SCI’s commitment to advocating children’s survival against preventable diseases.

He commended the state government for providing an enabling environment for the organisation to thrive in achieving its mandate towards ensuring a healthier population.

Earlier, the State’s Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Umma Ahmed, said despite the efforts of the government, it was doing its best to achieve UHC in the state.

Ahmed, Represented by Dr Danga Sule, the State’s Malaria Elimination Programme Manager, disclosed that the state government was recently building another set of 255 primary health centres across all the geopolitical wards in the state.

Describing PHCs as the gatekeepers where the public could access health, he said having the infrastructure, human resources, finances, and collaboration with the relevant stakeholders would help achieve UHC in the state and country at large.

Sule called for increased collaboration with private organisations, CSOs, among others, adding that the government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of more than 10 million of its citizens in the state in achieving UHC.

She also called on the public to ensure hygiene and proper sanitation of the environment to avoid diseases.

NAN reports that the highpoint of the event was a highly intellectual presentation by the pupils of Kamlik Schools, titled ‘From Children to Policy Makers: What Universal Health Coverage Meant for Us’. (NAN)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

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