By Folasade Akpan

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, has called on Nigerians to prioritise self-care as a vital part of their daily lives.

Pate, who was represented by the Director, Food and Drugs Services, Dr Olubunmi Aribeana, made the call on Thursday in Abuja at the commemoration of the maiden National Self-Care Day.

Marked globally on July 24, the day had the theme: “Self-care: Empowering Individuals, Families and Communities for Universal Health Coverage”, and the slogan: “Prevent, Protect, Empower.”

The day is aimed at highlighting the critical role self-care plays in maintaining overall health and well-being.

According to Pate, self-care is not a luxury but a necessity, and prioritising physical, emotional, and mental health is essential to living healthy, productive, and fulfilling lives.

“The importance of international self-care cannot be overemphasised as it promotes overall health and wellness, empowers individuals, raises awareness, reduces burnout and encourages a ripple effect.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), self-care is the ability of individuals, families, and communities to prevent illness, promote and maintain health, and cope with ill health and disability with or without the support of a health provider.

“Thus, self-care is more than taking medication or eating healthy; it is the intentional choices we make every day to protect, preserve, and promote our physical, mental, emotional, and social health.

“Self-care is not the absence of care, it is the amplification of care,” he said.

The minister noted that for Nigeria, a country of over 200 million people, many of whom live in rural and underserved areas, self-care provides a bridge between personal health and national well-being.

He added that the government recognises the importance of self-care and has taken concrete steps to promote it.

“We have developed the National Guidelines on Self-care for Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal Health, and the Demand Generation Strategy on Self-care for SRMH in Nigeria.

“This is aimed at creating an enabling environment that supports individuals, families, and communities in practising self-care.”

Dr Alex Crasarira, Acting Country Representative of WHO, said that in the African region where access to essential health services is limited and a global shortage of health workers persists, self-care interventions can significantly transform how people manage their health.

He said WHO recommends that self-care interventions be made available in all countries to improve access to services.

“Self-care, which empowers people to promote their own health, prevent disease, and manage health conditions with or without a health care provider, is a critical component in the journey toward universal health.

“We congratulate Nigeria for being one of the first countries to launch national guidelines on self-care for sexual and reproductive health in 2020, as well as a five-year strategic plan on self-care.

“I commend the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for cascading a self-care advocacy campaign to about 24 states.”

Crasarira also noted that WHO has developed a “self-care wheel”, an innovative tool to guide individuals on which health interventions they can undertake on their own, and those that require professional support.

Also speaking, Dr Anthony Nwala, Assistant Chief Programme Delivery Officer at Society for Family Health (SFH), said self-care has been recognised as a key strategy for achieving Universal Health Coverage.

“We worked with the Federal Ministry of Health to identify necessary steps for integrating self-care into the health system, looking at the policy, demand, and supply aspects,” he said.

Nwala, however, stressed the need to ensure that poor, vulnerable, and hard-to-reach populations also have access to quality health care services, including self-care.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Self-Care Month is observed from June 24 to July 24, with July 24 chosen as a symbolic date because self-care can be practised “24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Oluwafunke Ishola