From Fred Ezeh and Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has advocated increased investment in health care sector as a way to getting the country ready for future disease outbreaks, epidemic or pandemic.
Fayemi feared that Nigeria will continue to loose its best hands to countries in the West if it fails to encourage more investment in the health sector, thus appealing to the striking resident doctors to reconsider their decision and give government more chances to address their concerns.
The governor, who spoke through his Commissioner for Health, Oyebanji Filani, at a one day roundtable dialogue on private sector intervention in health care in Nigeria, in Abuja, yesterday, said Nigeria has experienced, at least, one outbreak per year in the last 10 years and that requires more readiness.
Fayemi said there is a significant relationship between the health, productivity and economic development of any given society, saying the role of both private and public sectors in the provision of healthcare in Nigeria can not be overemphasised.
“We will continue to demonstrate and show our interest in health sector because of the linkage between health, productivity and economic wellbeing. So, as a state, we will continue to focus on that.
“In the last 10 years, Nigeria has experienced, at leas, an outbreak per year. In Ekiti State for instance, we have taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen our public health security. We have decentralised testing to 145 testing centres, the highest in the country, and improved our disease surveillance capacity to pick up early signals of possible outbreaks.
“There’s a strong economic rationale for investing in health. Good health boosts individual and household income, as well as a country’s income in different ways. Healthier adults are more productive and healthier, well-nourished children are more likely to go to school and remain in school, which in turn is linked to higher earnings in adulthood.