By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) — Worried by the dilapidated state of Nigeria’s health sector, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), on Tuesday, unveiled a strategic plan from 2017 to 2022, which seeks to reverse Nigeria’s poor health outcomes with focus on the operationalisation of the National Health Act 2014 (NHACT).
The strategic plan also focuses on strengthening and improving health care delivery through effective collaboration of various health agencies with key focus on medical and educational research.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja, Ben Anyaene, the National Strategic Plan Implementation Committee of the NMA said the plan also focuses on how the health sector in Nigeria have to be operated for the benefit of the patients and Nigerians at large.
“The plan seeks to address the emerging health issues in the country. The plan is not just for NMA. The NMA is providing the platform to enable everyone contribute his or her own bit to the enhancement of the health sector.
“We need to reach out to all other stakeholders to make sure we work together to improve the actual health outcomes in the country,” Anyaene said.
Also, Nkata Chuku, a health expert, who spoke on the thematic areas the plan focuses, also said the plan seeks to address and harmonise professional relationships with various health professionals having the right approach.
”The NMA has continuously served as a pressure group. We even led a delegation to the National Assembly to ensure the provision in the National Health Act are made available to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to start delivering the National Health Act,” he noted.
Nevertheless, stakeholders have expressed concern that Nigeria is a country with high disease burden and a weak health system resulting in appalling outcomes, including average life expectancy of 48 to 52 years.
Regrettably also, Nigeria accounts for 10 percent of global maternal and child deaths even though Nigeria has only 2 percent of the world population.
Findings also revealed that only 4.3 percent of the 2016 National budget, which represents a 3.73 percent annual decline compared to 2015 and a far cry from 15 percent recommended by the African Union in the Abuja declaration for African countries allocation for health sector in 2000.
