The Nigeria Medical Association is set to hold a National Health Summit between November 4 and 8, 2019 to address some of the challenges in the health sector. The President of the association, Dr Francis Faduyile, said the summit, which is in its second edition, would identify the challenges militating against the attainment of basic, affordable and quality health care delivery in the country.He explained that the initiative was conceived by the NMA because the nation’s health sector was yearning for a total revamp in order to improve and meet the health needs of Nigerians.
He said, “This was because the health sector then was prominently bedeviled with enormous challenges ranging from inter-sectoral and inter-professional disharmony, incessant industrial action, poor facilities, brain drain leading to scarcity of manpower, lack of policy implementation and manpower training at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The rate of poor indices was hitting the roof with unacceptable maternal morbidity and mortality as well as perinatal mortality, with poor political will to revamp the sector.
“The summit is now a statutory activity of NMA and it takes place every five years. This year’s event is themed, ‘Patient-centered care’. This was particularly considered important because the patient is at the center of the health care delivery. Without the patient, there will be no health profession.”
Faduyile also called on the new health minister, Dr Ehanire Osagie, to work with major health actors in the states so that the states could increase funding to health and ensure that the primary health care system was functional.
He added, “It is when that level is functional that all the pressure we see at the tertiary level will be reduced. The tertiary will then be able to take care of the type of patients it was designed to cater for. He should also work with other ministers to encourage the FG to increase funding to the health sector.”
Source: Punch
