Stakeholders in the health sector yesterday called for improved strategic purchasing of health services. They said this will improve the efficiency in the utilisation of scarce funds, and provide real value for monies spent.
They noted that strategic purchasing of health services is not only critical to the attainment of universal health coverage and the effective delivery of services, especially at the primary healthcare level, but it will also ensure that health services will respond to the needs of the target population.
At the health policy dialogue on strategic purchasing reforms and primary health care financing in Abuja, organised by the Results for Development (R4D), the Managing Director of R4D, Dr Cheryl Cashin said while the Federal Government needs to increase the budgetary allocation for health, more still needs to be done in how efficiently the funds are spent.
She said: “It is one thing to mobilise resources for health, but it is crucial that these resources that have been mobilised need to be spent appropriately for health value so that more Nigerians or the population at risk will be able to access health care.
“Strategic purchasing helps countries to get more value and more health outcomes for the money that has been put forward for health care.
The Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Prof. Mohammed Sambo, who was represented by the General Manager of Finance and Account at the Authority, Mr John Okoh said: “I believe that in addition to these dialogues, we also need the institutionalisation of health sector reforms, coordination of all stakeholder efforts, adequate and sustainable financing, political commitment at all levels of government, and strategic harnessing of the potential of the private sector; taking into consideration our local context and peculiarities.”