April 7, 2018

The Kwara chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) on Saturday urged the Federal Government to commence the full implementation of the National Health, to enhance access to healthcare services by all Nigerians.

The chairman of the association, Dr Kunle Olawepo made the plea in his statement in Ilorin to commemorate the 2018 World Health Day.
Olawepo said the call became imperative since the National Health Insurance Scheme was not presently covering greater percentage of Nigerians particularly those in the private sector.

According to him, more than 90 per cent of Nigerians can hardly afford payment for their health needs and lack access to the NHlS scheme.

He also urged the government to commit a minimum of 13 per cent of national budget to the health sector in line with the World Health Organisation recommendation.

Olawepo noted that Nigeria presently allocate only about 3-6 per cent of the national budget to the health sector, adding that the allocation was grossly inadequate.

The Kwara NMA chairman said it was imperative to also provide qualified motivated personnel and modern healthcare equipment to public hospitals to enable them cater properly to the healthcare needs of Nigerians.

According to him, the dearth of the facilities has contributed to brain drain in the health sector.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated annually on April 7. The day was first marked in 1949.

The Theme for the 2018 World Health Day is `Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, everywhere!’, with the slogan “Health for all”.