The Federal Ministry of Health has proposed the sum of N234.620,402 million in the 2020 budget for hiring of Nigerian medical doctors, pharmacists, medical academics and other professionals in the sector from the diaspora.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, disclosed this at the weekend, while defending diaspora-related parts of the budget before the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, also revealed that the ministry in addition proposed the sum of N173,020,401 million for the establishment and operationalisation of diaspora professional healthcare initiative, provision of logistics and implementation of diaspora professional healthcare activities.
The minister further added that N24 million was being proposed for “participation of Federal Ministry of Health’s delegation at the annual scientific sessions and trainings of the association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA), National Association of Nigerian Nurses in North America (NANNNA), Medical Association of Nigerian Specialists Across Great Britain(MANSAG), Canadian Association of Nigerian Physicians and Dentists (CANPAD), Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association in the United Kingdom (NNCA-UK), Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas (NAPPSA) and the International Conferences on Public Private Partnership for Supportive Capacity Building.”
A sub-head of N17,600,000 million, according to the breakdown by the ministry, was for “procurement of project vehicle for monitoring of medical missions and office furniture/equipment to enhance the effectiveness of diaspora unit officials.”
On the 2019 budget, the minister regretted that of the N186,000,000 appropriated for establishment and operationalisation of diaspora professional healthcare initiative, provision of logistics and implementation of diaspora professional healthcare activities, only N74,000,000, representing a mere 40 per cent was approved for the ministry.
He lamented further that even the 40 per cent approved, “the of Federal Ministry of Health was given only 56.05 per cent of the 40 per cent of which the procurement process is ongoing.”
For the participation of Federal Ministry of Health’s delegation at the Annual Scientific Sessions and Trainings of the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA), National Association of Nigerian Nurses in North America (NANNNA), Medical Association of Nigerian Specialists Across Great Britain (NANSAG), Canadian Association of Nigerian Physicians and Dentists (CANPAD), Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association in the United Kingdom (NNCA-UK), Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas (NAPPSA) and International Conferences on Public Private Partnership for Supportive Capacity Building, he told the committee at the weekend, that only N9,600,000 was approved from the proposal and approval for N24 million.
For supportive supervision of foreign and medical health missions, the ministry reported that only N7.04 million was released, out of N17.6 million approved by the National Assembly.
For the interaction with diaspora physicians, nurses, pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists’ organisations for the transfer of skill and other contributions from organisation of technical committee (made up of diaspora doctors and their home-based counterparts), nurses, N10 million was approved, but only N4 million was received.
He explained that in the 2019 budget, though the ministry proposed N20 million to purchase a vehicle for monitoring of medical missions abroad, only N8 million was released.
Earlier, the chairman of the House Committee on Diaspora, Honourable Tolu Akande-Sadipe, expressed her committee’s disappointment with the slow progress made by the ministry in its diaspora unit.
She, however, assured that her committee will push for improved funding for the unit in the 2020 budget.
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