The Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru near Jos Plateau State, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, has called on political parties to make health matters prominent in their forthcoming electioneering campaigns.
He spoke at a policy dialogue on strengthening health governance at the local government level in Nigeria. The event was organised by the institute in collaboration with the Development Research and Projects Centre (DRPC).
Prof. Omotayo said it is equally imperative for the parties that will eventually form governments at the national and state levels to give health a priority in their programming.
He lamented that the health sector faces severe crises caused by weak delivery of primary health care, poor health infrastructure, inadequate personnel, poor handling of health emergencies and the absence of planning for health at the local government level, including resource diversions and the absence of autonomy to local governments to operate.
“The health sector is faced with severe crises occasioned by weak delivery of primary health care, poor health infrastructure, inadequate personnel, poor handling of health emergencies such as COVID-19, the near absence of planning for health at the local government level, resource diversions and the absence of autonomy to local governments to operate.
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“These factors have made the achievement of universal health coverage through primary health care difficult. If the situation is not reversed, it will be absolutely difficult to achieve Goal three which is dedicated to ensuring healthy lives and the promotion of the well-being of all citizens of all ages.
“It is because of this that the National Institute and the dRPC found it imperative to create this platform for deep reflections on health governance at the subnational levels in our country.
“At the end of this dialogue, we expect to harvest the recommendations and package them in the form of policy briefs and they will be shared with the MDAs in charge of the implementation of health programmes in the country for uptake.
“We hope that political parties will make health issues prominent in their forthcoming electioneering campaigns. We hope too that the political parties that will form governments at the national and state levels will give health a priority in their programming,” he said.
He said as a policy think-tank, the institute is committed to research and reflections on national and international issues that directly impact the lives of the citizens of the country.
A health system and management expert, School of Health and Related Research University of Sheffield United Kingdom (UK), Dr Muhammad Saddiq said the root of the failure of primary health care and the entire health systems in low-and middle-income countries, including Nigeria, is the weakness or even absence of governance.
He said there must be a transparent system that assesses what is within realistic limits of resources available for health at the local, state and federal level, and that building a successful health system must start with a new mindset and a clear fundamental decision the government must make.
The Director of Projects DRPC, Dr Stanley Ukpai, said the dialogue will explore and share best practices for strengthening health governance at local government levels as part of ongoing efforts to reform the health sector for maximum impact in Nigeria.
According to him, the policy dialogue brought together experts, academics, and policymakers from the national and sub-national levels to provide recommendations to address the challenges of health governance for implementation at the three tiers of government.