Nigeria at the moment needs a quick revamp and radical revolution in its health sector, to reverse the years of decadence underpinning the sector’s growth, which makes the country rank poorly amongst other comity of states. The Nigerian health system has undoubtedly failed millions of Nigerians and we need Leadership and systematic change across the country to redress the problem.
Successive governments have introduced policies to improve access to healthcare services in the country. In 2006, Obasanjo inaugurated a 32-member health care financing working group alongside a working group on human resources for health. The terms of reference for the group were to review the situation of health care financing using the criteria of adequacy, equity, and sustainability.
In 2013, Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated an eight-man committee to come up with objective and practical solutions to the ongoing rot bedeviling the country’s health sector. In the recent administration, President Buhari equally established committees to look into issues bordering the health sector and finally the Presidential Health Reform Committee which Nigeria is hoping could be the messiah to take the underperforming sector out of this quagmire in Nigeria.
Despite the many committees formed by various administrations, it has in no significant way translated to quality health care for Nigerians. Instead, the attainment gap between those seeking health care services and the health care system has continued to widen. It is not unusual to find many Nigerians sitting in under-furnished or over-populated health facilities. This and more are reasons why the President taught it wise to establish a Health Sector Reform Committee.
During the inauguration of the Health Sector Reform Committee, the Minister for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire mentioned that the Nigeria Health System ranks 187th out of 195 countries in the world. Ehanire attributed the failure in the health system to poor funding which has resulted in the ministry’s inability to meet the country’s health demands.
He also commended the President’s choice of the chairman of the committee. According to him “The choice of membership is also broad, covering a wide range of stakeholders from the executive and legislative arms, Nigerians Health Commissioner’s Forum, development partners, traditional rulers, major professional interest groups, and experts with experience in various fields”.
Nevertheless, the minister opined that the conference is a National assignment and need not become a platform focusing on sectorial interest because it would undermine the president’s mandate for the best interest of the people and the creation of a new health system.
“As we study the challenges of the poor human resource of health which we had, we shall also encounter the alarming challenge of emigration of health personnel out of the country after they have been trained.”.
The Health Reform Committee inaugurated by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo could be a solution architect, to at least lay the foundation addressing key issues like governance, fragmentation in the sector, intrasectoral rivalry, poor health financing, poor coordination between Federal and states, decaying Primary Health Care Services, mandatory health insurance, bio safety, Public Health Response, failing Tertiary care, decaying health infrastructures, emergency care and human resource for health amidst the alarming mass exodus of health workers out of Nigeria.
It is believed that the committee would enable the government to increase access to quality healthcare and bridge the inequality gap at the same time by using private sector efficiency to reduce the cost of running public hospitals. The committee would drive innovation in the way health facilities are managed, thereby improving the overall quality of health provided to Nigerians.
The truth remains that the Nigerian government can no longer fix the problem of the health sector on its own, hence the need for the private sector partnership, to help deliver improved health services for the general populace. Nigerians hope that this new Health Reform Committee births this Revolution!
