Ehanire: Health Sector Package Plan to Lift Nigerians Out of Poverty

Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has said the federal government considered the health sector as one of the key priority areas that would help achieve the goal of alleviating poverty among Nigerians.

Ehanire, who spoke at the induction ceremony of 879 foreign trained medical and dental graduates held at the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) in Abuja, added that the federal government has started implementing a strategy towards the realisation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s June 12 promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next ten years.

According to Ehanire, the health sector was charged with the priority area of Human Capital Development (HCD) to improve health outcomes among other deliverables.

In order to achieve this, the minister said the federal government has set nine deliverable targets in the health sector for the second tenure of the Buhari administration.

He said the priority areas included mandatory and universal health insurance in collaboration with state governments and the Federal Capital Territory Administration; operationalisation of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) in collaboration with relevant Agencies and Partners; Recruitment and deployment of Community Health Extension Workers.

Other priority areas were revamping Federal Teaching Hospitals across the country; collaborating with private sector investors to establish high quality hospitals in Nigeria; reducing gaps in all health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by at least 60 per cent and reducing current imbalance between primary, secondary and Tertiary Health Care.

Ehanire further said the federal government planned to actively collaborate with the private sector to create a large number of well-paying jobs for Nigerian youths through increase investment in the health sector.

In addition, Ehanire noted that the government envisioned Universal Coverage of Healthcare to make healthcare services accessible and affordable to all Nigerians, irrespective of social status.

“Today’s induction is significant in that 879 practitioners will be added to the group of medical personnel that are already working to actualise this vision,” he said, adding that a total of 879 doctors were successful at the June 2021 assessment examinations organised by the MDCN at the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, and that out of the 879 foreign trained doctors inducted at Thursday’s ceremony, 862 were medical doctors while 17 were Dentists.

The Minister explained that Federal Ministry of Health and the Budget office of the Federation have approved in this year’s budget funds for the payments of House Officers by the MDCN effective from January 2021.

He charged the MDCN with the posting, placement and payment of the House officers to ensure equitable availability of spaces for housemanship training on a first come first served basis.

Registrar of MDCN, Dr. Tajudeen Sanusi, drew the attention of the newly inducted medical doctors to the existence of disciplinary organs within the council, which punishes doctors found wanting in the discharge of their duties.

He said apart from the disciplinary panels, which receives and investigates allegations of malfeasance against doctors, there was also the Tribunal with the powers to suspend or delist those found guilty of an offence.

Sanusi described the ongoing nationwide strike by the doctors under the auspices of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) as very unfortunate.

He said the MDCN was not owing any House Officer his salary as at July, 2021, adding if anyone was owed, the problem would be from respective the Teaching Hospitals.

Chairman of the Senate Commitee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, however, said the National Assembly would work with the Executive arm to provide funds that would enable MDCN to conduct independent assessment examination on the doctors without depending on any other institution.