Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has urged African countries to working towards increasing regional manufacturing capacity of essential health items.
The minister made this case in a virtual presentation during the WHO AFRO 72 Regional Committee for Africa taking place in Lome, Togo between 22nd and 26th August.
According to the statement, signed by the Deputy Director/Head ( Media & Public Relations Unit),
Ahmadu Chindaya, the Health Minister, said the journey has not been easy for the sub-region due to high dependency on imported goods and the impact of COVID-19 on overseas manufacturers, which spends huge sums on soaring prices of scarce goods.
He lamented that the situation has left Africa at the bottom of the priority list for commodities and vaccines.
“Africa must increase regional manufacturing capacity of essential health items,” he said.
He further stated that Nigeria is among the countries still recovering from the social and economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to control it.
Ehanire said that Nigeria is working hard to strengthen public health security for better preparedness for future challenges and improve routine health care towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.
Similarly, in preparedness for current and future challenges the Minister said “Nigeria has improved and expanded its public laboratory networks, intensive care units, isolation centres and increased oxygen production capacity to build back better.”
“Government under the health sector reform is increasingly improving its services and capacity especially under the Primary Health Care (PHC), crowning it with signing of the new National Health Insurance Authority, which makes health care insurance mandatory,” he said
