FEDERAL government has been tasked to enact laws that would specifically define the engagement of Faith Based Organisations in effective healthcare delivery activities in the country.
The National Advocacy Committee, NAC, of the Christian Health Association of Nigeria, CHAN, who made the call in Abuja, also wants government to legislate for the catering of salaries and personal emoluments of Mission Health workers.
Speaking in Abuja during a visit by the NAC to the Senate Health Committee, Chairman of the NAC, Dr. Wale Okediran, said government at the top needed to support budgetary increases in the area of health care service delivery and ensure equitable distribution of health resources such as, infrastructure, drugs and medical supplies, personnel and equipment in the country.
In a presentation to the Senate Health Committee, Okediran said it had become necessary to have in place a policy that recognises, encourages, supports and regulates the substantial contributions of CHAN and other FBOs to health care delivery, especially in the hard to reach areas of Nigeria.
According to the NAC Chairman, the deplorable condition of the Nigeria health system can largely be attributed to the lack of policies and legislation engaging the Faith based health institutions that provide health care services to 4 out of 10 Nigerians.
“This has resulted to high infant and maternal mortality in the rural communities and disadvantaged urban areas, thereby, threatening the continued existence of these Institutions that work 24 hours without strike, to save the lives of vulnerable and voiceless Nigerians,” he stated.
Noting that 40-70 percent of health care delivery in Nigeria is provided by the private sector, made up mostly of Faith-Based Organisation health facilities, Okediran lamented that Nigeria has no policy or legislation in place that recognises rewards and supports agencies that provide such magnitude of healthcare delivery to Nigerians particularly in the hard to reach communities.
Okediran said allocation of less than 6 percent of annual budget to health instead of the agreed 15 percent as recommended by the World Health Organisation, had created a gap in health services as a result of which there is a heavy burden placed on CHAN Mission Institutions and FBOs who self -finance the provision of health services they deliver.
He lamented that as a result of stiff regulatory standard from professional bodies, there was limitation to the functioning of CHAN as a result of which it was becoming increasingly difficult to meet their overhead costs.
Urging the legislators to abide by the suggestions of the NAC, he argued that “There will be increased political will and commitment to the health care delivery in Nigeria as well as increased public trust in the legislature for making access to quality health care a reality in Nigeria.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/03/chan-tasks-legislators-to-enact-laws-to-engage-fbos-in-healthcare-delivery/
