Civic-tech organisation, BudgIt foundation Saturday faulted the Federal Government’s N711.28 billion healthcare budget, saying it amounts to only N3,453 to the health of each Nigerian.
It added that although Nigeria is a signatory to the Abuja declaration which places all West African countries on the pedestal of committing 15 per cent of their budget to healthcare, Nigeria has never met hers.
Assistant manager Budglt, Iyanoluwa Bolarinwa, who stated this, said the lack of proper investment by the government makes it difficult for the man on the street to access adequate health care.
Bolarinwa spoke in Abuja at the Connected Development [CODE], and BudgIT round table discussions between healthcare workers and Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s).
The discussants considered the challenges, successes, and recommendations encountered in the course of their work and the present capacity in governance as regards transparency and accountability of COVID-19 Funds including public service delivery with a focus on the response to the pandemic.
The project which was supported by Conrad Hilton Foundation and Skoll Foundation is implementing the second phase of the COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability Project (CTAP) aimed at tracking all funds and donations made by individuals, corporate bodies, and international donors in support of the Federal Government’s COVID-19 intervention as well as responses targeted at mitigating the impact of the pandemic on its citizens.
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He said: “It will surprise you to know that the Abuja declaration which places all the West African countries on the pedestal of committing 15 per cent of their budget to health care in their countries as never been met by Nigeria.
“It may interest you to know that by calculation, just the sum of N3000 has been committed by the Federal Government to the health of each Nigerian.
“So, it means that, that does not adequately take care of you. God forbid you have a chronic illness where you have to visit an emergency room, what becomes of you?”
Founder CODE, Hamzat Lawal noted that Africans are still struggling to come out of the debilitating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said Nigeria needs to discuss how it can effectively counter the vaccine hesitancy and get citizens vaccinated to enable the country prepare for future pandemics.