By Moses Emorinken
The Partnership for Advocacy on Child and Family Health (PACFaH@Scale), a coalition of 23 civil society organisations (CSOs), has urged the Federal Government to make good its commitment to prioritising the health sector for effective performance.
According to the CSOs, over the last decade, the utilisation of capital expenditure in the health sector has been poor, making it difficult for the country to achieve the objectives of such budgetary allocations. They also said despite the Federal Government’s signing of the Abuja Declaration in 2001, promising to spend 15 per cent of the annual budget on the health sector, no government has achieved more than six per cent.
The situation, according to them, is the same at the state level, with only one state government actually appropriating 15 per cent of the state‘s budget to the health sector in 2016, but failing to release less than five per cent of this budget. This was made known by the coalition’s spokesperson, Dr. Habib Sadauki, in Abuja.
“We are calling on the Federal Government to prioritise the health sector; to prioritise budgetary increases to this sector, timely releases, and to also the full release and ensure efficient and effective utilisation of budgetary allocations to capital expenditure of the health sector. This will contribute to equipping, repairing, revamping and making fit for purpose the country’s overburdened and failing health infrastructure,” Sadauki said.
He further added: “For example, in 2018, the capital allocation to the sector was N141.62 billion. However, the amount released was N21.62 billion, a mere 15.3 percent of the total capital expenditure for the health sector. More shocking is that of the amount released (N21.62 billion) only N13.35 billion or 9.4% was utilised. The sum of N8.27 billion had to be returned to the treasury.
“PACFaH@Scale drew only from official government sources in making this analysis. We raised the red flag that this pattern of appropriation, non-release and return to the treasury of public funds meant for the health sector has been happening over the past years. It is not new to this current government. For instance, in 2012 the total capital allocation to the health sector was N60.92 billion, out of which only N45 billion was released. Of the N45 billion released, only N33.68 billion was spent. As much as N11.32 billion had to be returned to the treasury at the end of 2012.
“From 2009 to 2018, the story has not changed because the country’s budget lifecycle did not allow for proper utilisation of budgetary allocations to the health sector. In some cases, capital projects are not properly executed. We are all well aware of the implication of the underfunding of the health sector. Doctors, nurses and community health workers with no equipment and supplies to work will get frustrated and will look outside (overseas) for a more enabling professional environment.
“Federal facilities with sub-optimal standards will set a bad example for state governments being called up to implement the Primary Health Care under One Roof Policy; stock-outs of essential medicines breakdowns and non-functional diagnostic equipment; and ultimately a deathblow to Nigeria’s quest for Universal Health Coverage. This is our present situation it should not be our future,” he said.
He therefore urged lawmakers to ensure early passage of an adequately funded health sector line within the annual budget and to discharge their constitutional responsibility of effective supervision of health sector budget implementation.
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