World Health Day: Obaseki harps on attaining Universal Health Coverage in Edo with reforms

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has assured of his administration’s commitment to attain Universal Health Coverage with ongoing reforms in the health sector, which are geared towards providing access to responsive, affordable, efficient health services especially at the primary healthcare centers across the state.

The governor stated this in commemoration of the World Health Day, celebrated every April 7, to mark the founding of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

According to Obaseki, “As we mark the founding of WHO, we are emboldened to press on with our mission to provide access to qualitative, responsive and efficient healthcare services, at the primary healthcare to all Edo residents. We have begun by gradually overhauling the primary healthcare system, a move that brings us closer to attaining Universal Health Coverage in Edo.”

The governor explained that the state government’s healthcare reforms are holistic and far-reaching, and got a boost recently with the right institutional framework, to be driven by the 17-member Edo State Primary Healthcare Board. He noted that the board was inaugurated with a mandate to ensure revamp of the state’s primary healthcare system to be responsive, efficient and effective, in delivering affordable and accessible healthcare.

The governor added that part of his administration’s commitment to providing access to quality healthcare to Edo people and residents is expressed in the payment of counterpart funding for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), “which will enable Edo State fully benefit from the implementation of the BHCPF, a fundamental funding provision under the National Health Act signed in 2014.”

“In Edo State, we are revamping our Primary Healthcare system which is being built on several pillars, including human capacity, provision of technology and data, quality assurance, financing and infrastructure of the healthcare system to provide a well-package preventive, curative and rehabilitative healthcare services to our citizens,” he added.

In a statement to mark the 2019 World Health Day, in Geneva, Director-General, WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, said in 2019 it is simply unacceptable that “half the world’s population cannot access essential health services. Millions of women give birth without help from a skilled attendant; millions of children miss out on vaccinations against killer diseases, and millions suffer and die because they can’t get treatment for HIV, TB, and malaria.”

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