Obasanjo: Nigerians Should See Healthcare as a Right, Not Favour, Luxury

•Abubakar, Jonathan hail launch of Care365 Health Hub

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said the country never envisioned a situation where quality healthcare will become a favour for the poor or luxury for the privileged and the urban elite.
Instead, Obasanjo said healthcare was to be considered as a fundamental right of every citizen.
Obasanjo’s remarks came just as two former Nigerian leaders, Gen. Abdulsami Abubakar (rtd) and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, commended the vision of the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Care365 Health Hub, Engr. Ngozi Joseph Odumuku, for bringing about an initiative capable of revolutionising healthcare access in Nigeria.
Speaking during the official launch of Care365 Health Hub, a digital health services provider on Tuesday in Abuja, Obasanjo lamented that millions of Nigerians still walked miles to access a health facility while many died from preventable situations and conditions.
Obasanjo said, “This is not a favour to the poor. It is our responsibility as leaders, as policy makers, as patriots and as elite within our community. It is no longer acceptable that in the age of artificial intelligence and space tourism, a Nigerian child should die of malaria because her mother couldn’t afford to travel to the nearest health facility.
“It is unacceptable that young people in remote communities go blind untreated because there’s no eye clinic for hundreds of miles.”
He expressed optimism that with the current drive for improved access to healthcare services being championed by innovative platforms, such as Care365 Health Hub, the problem will be solved.
He said, “It is an honour and a great privilege to stand before you today as chairman of this historic occasion, the official launch of the Care365 Health Hub product.
“I am pleased, not only because this initiative is timely and visionary, but because it speaks directly to the heart of one of our most critical national challenges: access to quality and affordable healthcare for all Nigerians.
“When I reflect on the Nigeria we envisioned at independence, and even more so during my years of service in government, healthcare was never meant to be a luxury for the privileged or the urban elite.
“It was to be a fundamental right, accessible 365 days of the year to the child in Damaturu, the mother in Yenagoa, the farmer in Ogbomosho. and the teacher in Birinin Kebi.
“This was what was envisaged for Nigeria, yet we know the truth. Millions of Nigerians still walk miles to reach a health post.
“Still, many die from preventable situations and conditions, and still more, many live in places where the nearest doctor is hours, and on bad roads, away.”
Obasanjo said Care365 Health Hub was daring to change the story and the situation in the country through digital innovation, which served as miniature hospital.
Chairman of Care 365, former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsami Abubakar (rtd), who echoed Obasanjo ‘s position, said there was hardly enough health facilities all over the country where people could assess medical care.
Abubakar stated, “During my days in service, I have served from the north to south, from east to west. And during my tenure as the head of state, I also travelled a lot in the country, and one of the things that really attracts my attention is our medical care.
“As the chairman of this occasion has said, there are not enough facilities nationwide to access health. So, this Care365, working together with the Ministry of Health and the state governments, will provide an answer to this problem.
“As the chairman of the occasion said, launching this thing is not the end of the problem, it is the beginning of the efforts to solve problems. It needs support from all of us in the way we can assist to deliver healthcare in this country.”
The ex-head of state commended the reforms being implemented by Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, to change the narrative in Nigeria’s health sector.
Jonathan said Nigeria could not progress without embracing digital innovation.
He said apart from enhancing access to healthcare, Care365 Health Hub was an innovation that would help direct patients to places where they could get quality care.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Care365 Health Hub, Engr. Ngozi Joseph Odumuku, said his vision was to make accessible health care affordable to the citizens of Nigeria.
Odumuku stated, “We are here to envision and to support the federal agencies and to be able to provide adequate care for every citizen, because care for citizens matter a lot.
“The idea for this care is to provide through technology and accessible point where, through as we do in the West, in America, in Canada and UK, people come from their teaching, their office, access health care, and this is what we are about.”
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, who unveiled the digital platform, said the event represented a practical, innovative solution to one of the country’s most consistent challenges, which was ensuring that quality health services were available and affordable to all Nigerians, especially those in underserved and remote communities.