Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has cried out over Nigeria losing more than N400 billion every year to medical tourism and begged stakeholders to unite and come up with a solution.
Buhari urged the course participants of the Senior Executive Course, SEC 41 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, to offer answers to problems that can reduce the gap in the institutional, legal and policy frameworks for funding nationwide healthcare delivery or the development of Nigeria.
He also beseeched them to ensure researches are conducted to know how other African, Asians, European nationsprovide funds to guarantee their citizens’ proper healthcare services.
His words, “I am pleased to be at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru on the occasion of the inauguration of the Senior Executive Course 41, 2019 of the National Institute. When in 2018, I approved the theme of your study, Funding Universal Healthcare Delivery in Nigeria, the decision was borne out of the sincere desire of my administration to tackle the challenges of health sector funding in Nigeria.
“The essence of this programme is to ensure that quality basic healthcare services are delivered to the majority of Nigerians across the country irrespective of their locations.Early in 2018,Government provided N55.1billion, which is the 1 percent Consolidated Revenue Fund to cater for the Basic Healthcare Fund, provided for in the National Health Act.
“Government has shown strong commitment in the revitalization of the health sector. These efforts notwithstanding, our health sector is still characterized by low response to public health emergencies, inability to combat outbreak of deadly diseases and mass migration of medical personnel out of the country.
“This has resulted in increasing medical tourism by Nigerians in which Nigeria loses over N400billion on annual basis.
“Thus, I consider the theme for 2019 very apt, timely and important because the primary purpose of governance is to ensure the security and well-being of the citizens including health security.”
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