Health workers give 24-hr ultimatum

By Olugbenga Adanikin


A group, the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on health yesterday issued a 24-hour ultimatum to President Goodluck Jonathan to sign the National Health Bill.


At a briefing yesterday in Abuja, the Country Director of Johns Hopkins Programme for International Education in Gynaecology and Obstetrics (JHPIEGO), Prof. Emmanuel Otolorin said the bill would address health issues, particularly maternal mortality and death of under five children in the country.

Otolorin said: "Everyone knows that Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest burden of maternal mortality and mortality of under five children. In actual fact, Nigeria is second to India in the number of women who die every year from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Nigeria is also the leader in Africa on the number of children under five who die annually.

"All that is required now is for Mr. President to sign this bill into law for implementation to commence. Now, the implication of not signing the bill in the next two days is that it will probably have to go back to the seventh National Assembly and we don’t know when this bill will come out again."

He said the bill allocates two per cent of the national budget to primary health care and 50 per cent for capacity building, health insurance and drugs.

Otolorin said: "The bill provides for two per cent of the national budget to primary health care. Primary health care is the bedrock of health in any country and it’s been shown or planned in the bill that 50 per cent of this fund will be used to provide health insurance through the national health insurance scheme to provide access to the majority of Nigerians, particularly the vulnerable, women and children, to access primary health care.

"Some of these funds will also be used to buy drugs and equipment that are critical to primary health care in Nigeria. Funds from these allocations will also be used for human resource development because we have a shortage of nurses, midwives, physicians at the primary health care level."

The Executive Director of Advocacy Nigeria, Hajiya Bilikisu Yusuf urged President Jonathan to sign the bill in the interest of Nigerian women and children, particularly the poor who cannot afford good health care.


"We all made a pledge at the global level that we will have universal access to health and six of the goals in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are about life giving, they focus on health. Goal Four is about infant mortality, checking it and reducing it. Goal Five is about reduction of maternal mortality. Goal Six is about reducing HIV AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases," she said.


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