Presidential Summit on Universal Health in Nigeria: Excerpts

Shared by PHM Nigeria:

--- Forwarded message ----------
From: gbenga adedayo <omindav@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 13, 2014 at 12:30 PM
Subject: Presidential Summit on Universal Health in Nigeria: Excerpts

Dear All,

This is just to share citation from the one-day presidential summit that held in Abuja on Monday (10th March).

Objective of Summit according to the minister of Health:

Minister of Health, Professor Oyebuchi Chukwu, said the aim of the summit, among other objectives, was to unlock the opportunities for universally accessible, effective, efficient and equitable healthcare in Nigeria.

He stated that the summit was meant to demonstrate government's commitment to achieving universal health coverage in Nigeria.

According to him, ensuring health for majority of people would require both availability and accessibility to health infrastructure and services.

“The summit is not stopping all current efforts to achieving universal health coverage, but to make it clear to all that it is a national project.

"What the President is going to do with the summit will be much more comprehensive in addressing not only financial access but also geographical access,” Chukwu added.

The Presidential Summit on Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria will be held under theme, “UHC-Vehicle for Sustainable Growth and Development.”

Contributions at the Summit

The Federal Government says it will make every effort to ensure that Nigerians have access to qualitative and affordable healthcare services under the Universal Health Coverage.

Vice President Namadi Sambo said this while declaring open the Presidential Health Summit holding in the Presidential Villa.

The Vice President, who decried the enormous resources lost to capital flight in the health sector, however observed that the Jonathan administration had put machinery in motion to ensure that Nigeria is abreast with other countries of the world in healthcare delivery.

The occasion attracted state governors, donor agencies such as the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Population Fund who pledged to support Nigeria to achieve the Universal Health Coverage.

In his address, the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu said that the Universal Health Coverage, when achieved would create job opportunities for many Nigerians.

Gov. Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State has said that to achieve universal health coverage in Nigeria, the health system must be strengthened and its quality assured for the people to buy into it.

Mimiko made the statement in Abuja on Monday at the Presidential Summit on Universal Health Coverage, with the theme, ``Universal Health Coverage for Sustainable Growth and Development’’.

``With political will, necessary partnership and leveraging in technology, Nigeria will achieve universal health coverage.

``Most importantly, to get compliance, we must strengthen the healthcare system to make them effective to respond to the needs of the people, that way we can sustain the scheme,’’ he said.

According to Mimiko, growth in Gross Domestic Product does not translate to happier citizens but good health.

He said efficient utilisation of available resources was critical to sustaining universal health coverage.

Earlier, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said a consensus was reached at the technical session of the summit that health insurance should be made mandatory for all Nigerians.

He said financial access was possible if health insurance was made compulsory and treated as the right of all citizens.

``At this point in our history, we can only make human health insurance compulsory and also institute processes that will ensure that it is rigorously implemented.

``So, one of our prayers for this summit is to institute a health insurance that is compulsory and fully enforced for all Nigerians,’’ Chukwu said.

Communique of the Summit

Participants at a one-day Presidential Summit on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) have called for the introduction of mandatory health insurance scheme.

This is contained in a communiqué read by the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu at the end of the summit held at the Presidential Banquet Hall, Abuja.

The communique said the scheme could be realised with contributions from all income earners to boost health care services in the country.

According to the communiqué, the participants advocated special funds to cover the health insurance of the less privileged members of the society.

It called for the strengthening and expanding financial risk protection mechanism for the poor and vulnerable groups as part of the broader social protection efforts.

It also called for an increased budgetary allocation to health at Federal, State and Local Government levels with a proportion earmarked for UHC priority interventions.

It urged the government to provide policy and regulatory instruments for the institutionalisation of systems and mechanisms that ensure quality of care and satisfaction for consumers of health care services.

It also called for the establishment of Independent Health Quality Commission to ensure standards and compliance.

The communiqué quoted the participants as calling for the building of an organised referral system that would guarantee each citizen access to functional primary health care facility.

It suggested the inauguration of  appropriate committees to initiate actions towards the realisation of the recommendations of the summit.

Participants advocated the establishment of a joint mechanism to monitor and evaluate progress of the UHC in Nigeria.

The summit, which was presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo, had ``Universal Health Coverage - a Vehicle for Sustainable Growth and Development’’, as its theme.

This is just for your information. it is our desire that we achieve universal health coverage void of inequality in Nigeria. It is our responsibilty to remind our governments at all levels of their responsibility and to hold them accountable on services delivery.

Cheers.

'Gbenga Adedayo