*Said Nigeria’s health sector is too fragile to take care of victims
* Pledge to support the incoming president in developing a strong strategy to achieve Universal Health Coverage
As Nigerians go to the polls on Friday, the Health Sector Reform Coalition (HSRC), has warned Nigerians to stay away from violence and vote peacefully knowing that the Nigerian health system is very fragile and does not have enough hands to take care of the series. the person who will be injured.
The group encouraged Nigerians to study the manifestos of various political parties and vote for candidates who have the capacity to reposition and transform Nigeria’s health sector.
The chairman of the coalition, Chika Offor, who stated this at a Press Conference on the Health Manifesto of the four Frontline Presidential candidates yesterday in Abuja, said the HSRC is willing to support whoever wins the presidential election to develop a robust strategy that will help the country achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC ).
Offor noted that the first thing the incoming president will do is appoint a minister of health who understands the health sector because leadership is the key to fixing the health sector and reversing the country’s poor health index.
He said that the health sector has historically taken a back seat in Nigeria’s political and electoral priorities, but thanks to the hard work of supporters across the country, among whom HSRC is the chief, we have seen for the first time the best efforts by the political class for primary health care in the manifesto.
“The Health Sector Reform Coalition (HSRC) is a coalition of over one hundred (100) Civil Society Organizations and other non-governmental actors who have come together to push for citizen-led health sector reforms in Nigeria. Our coalition plays a key role in driving advocacy activities that lead to signed and signed the National Health Act in 2014.
“Since this period, the HSRC has continued to work towards the implementation of the Act and other sectoral reforms that have a strong potential to transform the health care landscape in Nigeria through the provision of primary health care services to all Nigerians and provide a road map to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the country,” he said.
Adding: “We are ready to support the incoming president to achieve Universal Health Coverage and support the push of the Abuja Declaration on the allocation of 15 percent of the budget to the health sector. We have the experts, the passion and everything we need, we want to ensure that whatever we get from oil subsidies is invested again in the health sector.The incoming president has a duty to inform Nigerians on how to make Universal health.
“We want Nigerians to come out on election day and vote peacefully because the health system does not have the strength to carry any victims that will come out if people engage in violence, the health system is too fragile to support a series of injured people so that people they voted peacefully and lived to witness the new administration”, he added.
The coalition noted that in analyzing the manifestos of the four main parties for the 2023 presidential election, the promise of accountability benchmarks that improve the health status of citizens should be considered a political priority and an integral part of the political agenda, especially in Nigeria that has it. one of the worst health indices in the world.
The HSRC states that the country is severely challenged by a weak health system and high medical tourism. It is clear that health is wealth and there is a clear link between health and development.
According to the coalition, until the 2023 election, the main political parties have a weak aspect of health in their manifesto, but it is good that this time, the top four of the 18 presidential candidates in the upcoming presidential election in Nigeria on Saturday have presented a plan. for the Nigerian health sector in their manifestos, which shows increased attention to improve the Nigerian health system.
“The top four candidates are the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Labor Party (LP), the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The main push for the health sector in each manifesto has expressed the level of understanding that differ on the problems facing the health sector and how to solve them.
“Hopefully, whoever wins the election will lead the country to increase the budget allocation for the health sector; three levels of aggressive health investment in partnership with state and local governments; rapid expansion of primary health care and human resources and health financing which is pro-poor inspired by innovative resource pooling.
Another is, the mainstreaming of effective anti-corruption measures in the health sector and investment in health research to guide the governance of the health sector and reduce dependence on imported medical materials”, added the coalition.