To address the crisis in the health sector, the House of Representatives has appealed to the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency and allocate significant funding in the 2024 budget projections.
The motion was put forth during the Abuja plenary by Fayinka Oluwatoyin (APC-Lagos).
The motion was titled, ‘Need for the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency to collaborate with relevant health agencies in states and Local Governments to ensure the functionality of Primary Healthcare Centres.’
Addressing the issue, Oluwatoyin, the representative for Mushin Federal Constituency II in Lagos State, pointed out that Nigeria, with the largest population in Africa, is experiencing significantly high levels of decrepit health facilities.
According to his findings, Nigeria had an estimated 39,983 hospitals and clinics in 2020, with primary healthcare centers making up roughly 34,000, which accounted for 86 percent of the total.
However, he pointed out that only 20 percent of these primary healthcare centers are operational, especially in rural areas that lack sufficient facilities and staff.
He noted that the absence of medical equipment, drugs, competent staff, electrical systems, beds, and road networks has led to an upsurge in the number of deaths in healthcare facilities.
Read also: The House Of Representatives Is Broke – Benjamin Kalu
He pointed out that this required revitalization, with a budget of US$80 million earmarked for the addition of more bed spaces.
He noted that the Federal and State Health Ministries’ misrepresentation of primary healthcare centers was hindering accurate budgeting and restricting access to quality healthcare in rural areas.
He mentioned that this often leads to early deaths.
In its resolution, the House urged the Federal Ministry of Health to promote the rejuvenation of inactive primary healthcare programs at the grassroots level in the various States.
The House also pressed the ministry to ensure the availability of top-quality and reasonably priced healthcare for the population.
Additionally, the House called upon the Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with State ministries, LGAs, and other stakeholders, to create a task force with the objective of abolishing prevalent medical malpractice.
He pointed out that this should particularly target rural areas, providing the Committee on Healthcare Services with summary reports for evaluating the standard of the Primary Healthcare Centers throughout the period of 2016 to 2022.