The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, has assured Nigerians that his administration as Minister will improve healthcare services and, most especially, reverse the trend of medical tourism in Nigeria.
Pate, while giving the assurance on Monday as he assumed office, said It is important that the government deal with the issues of governance to improve the governance of health.
He added that Federal, state, and Local governments and other actors must work together, including those who may be differently abled, in the construction and implementation of health policy.
He said: “When you fly from Addis Ababa to India, you see a lot of people going for medical tourism, and it is not something we in the health sector should rest on our oars and see as normal. We should do something about it and improve our health outcomes.
Pate also said that the economic value chain that exists in the health sector should be harnessed, adding that the role was for the private sector in health even though the mission was a core public mission.
“The agenda to harness that has to be carefully crafted, with every stakeholder being a part of the conversation.
“President Tinubu signalled an intent for his administration in selecting those he assigned as ministers to the health sector.”
“There is an important signal in there, and we are very excited about that.
I think the fact that he also included Social Welfare with health indicates he also considers the people as the basis, the foundational element, for what his administration tries to do.
“This is because the welfare of the people is linked to their health; their health and wellbeing are interconnected right from gestation to childhood to adulthood to the elderly and all across the life cycle.
“Of course, we need to grow our economy, but we also need to attend to the people, and health is an important component of that, and I think that is one signal that is important.
“The president is the driver, and we will follow, and we will work hard to ensure that our driver takes us to the destination, the vision that he has of transforming this country.”
Pate also said that the main responsibility of the Ministry of Health was to save lives and reduce pain.
“Whether physical pain or financial protection, we produce health; that is our business in health, and I think that the president wants us to do that.
“This is because he realises that Nigerians are eager to feel the impact of government so that people feel the difference that his renewed hope agenda actually begins to touch the lives of people, and we are right where it can be done.”
Also, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, assured that he will work with Pate to ensure that Nigerians begin to appreciate healthcare delivery here in Nigeria.
“Our people deserve a basic, comprehensive, international, acceptable level of health care, and we will start thinking of healthcare as a human rights issue.
“Lack of basic healthcare for any Nigerian from now on will be considered a violation of the human rights of that Nigerian, and we are going to latch on to the staff of the ministry to ensure that we deliver”, he added.
The Permanent Secretary, Daju Kachollon, reiterated that the statutory mandate and core function of the ministry was to ensure the development and implementation of national health, collaborate with states and local governments, and provide specialised healthcare services, amongst others.
“Everything that the Ministry of Health does is guided by the National Health Act 2014, copies of which I will provide to both ministers, and this Act actually spells out the functions and emphasises the ministry’s role in health policy, resource allocation, and health service delivery.”
While presenting the Act to the ministers, she assured them that all staff of the ministry would work with them to ensure that healthcare is delivered to Nigerians.
He gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja while meeting with the Permanent Secretary and Directors of the ministry after assuming office.
Earlier, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated 45 ministers and others to pilot affairs of various Federal Ministries for the next 4 years
Pate, who is a professor of Public health, served as the Minister of State for Health from July 2011 to July 2013.
He was also the Chief Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency from 2008 to 2011.
Pate has also served as the Global Director for Health, Nutrition, and Population and Director of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents at the World Bank Group.
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