Abuja – The Healthwatch Forum, an NGO, has urged Nigerians to hold government responsible for any failure in service delivery.
Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, a public health consultant and Editor of Nigeria Health Watch, made the call at the Healthwatch Forum with the theme “Active Citizenship for Health’’ on Tuesday in Abuja.
He noted that health issues were not adequately captured in the political agenda of the government.
Ihekweazu described the forum as a process of making government accountable to its responsibilities, among others.
According to him, the time has come for Nigerian populace to express their views with regards to challenges faced in an attempt to access healthcare services.
“If you do not provoke government to actions by way of crying out loud to every misfortune situations it will not rise up to its responsibilities.
“We are not going to be quiet anymore and be docile recipients of government charity, we want to be actively engaged in an un-confrontational manner and contribute to defining our health system.
“It is not only the poor that are affected in health system failure but among the elites they die too because they do not have access to emergency care they need.
“Ultimately what we are talking about is not just for the poor but we are all affected, we have to mobilise Nigerians to realise that this is not what we can live for few people but we all have to engage with them,’’ he said.
Dr Ben Ayene, Chairman of Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON) Board of Trustee, also observed that the health system as a whole was not accountable.
Ayene noted that accountability should first of all start from the individual, describing them as constituting the system.
He assured of the commitment of the forum to put stakeholders together to work toward the betterment of the nation’s health system.
Speaking also at the event, Mr Joseph Amenaghawon, the Programme Coordinator, Open Society Initiative for West Africa, decried the nonchalant attitude of medical doctors and other hospital workers.
He noted that a lot of them are not opened to patients and their respective families, adding that efforts should be geared towards addressing this challenge, among others. (NAN)