Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has suggested to Nigerians to seek alternative sources of quality health care services to complement the effort of government in health care service delivery.
The reason, he said, was that, from all indications, combined efforts of Federal and States Government cannot provide adequate quality health care services to a population of 200 million Nigerians.
He insisted that private investors must key into the health care services to complement the intervention of government to provide quality and affordable health care services to Nigerians.
Osinbajo spoke in Abuja, on Tuesday, through his personal physician, Dr. Audiferren Nicholas, at National health dialogue, organised by Premium Times, an online news platform, with focus on the role of state and non state actor in healthcare funding and support.
He agreed that Nigeria has poor healthcare indices, “but that could be corrected if state and non state actor recommit to the cause of quality and affordable health care services to Nigerians, perhaps, using a changed approach.”
He added: “I don’t need to dwell much on the ugly health indices of Nigeria. Other speakers have hammered on that. Howbeit, our priority is the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
“But there is one simple truth that we must tell ourselves. Federal and States Government cannot provide adequate and quality health care services to N200 million Nigerians. That may not be possible soon.
“However, we would continue to do our best to encourage private sector participation in health care delivery services to Nigerians. One percent of consolidated revenue was allocated to funding of basic healthcare services in 2019 budget. The effects are there but there is more that could be done and we hope to improve on what we have.”
He suggested that effective health insurance system could go a long way in bridging the wide gap in healthcare services to Nigerians. “We can also adopt the Indian approach in solving these problems,” he suggested.