From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHEJ), has commended the roles and support of the Country Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) which, the Association said, has helped to improved health care services in Nigeria.
The commendation was contained in a communique released at the end of the Association’s annual conference with the theme, “Universal Health Insurance (UHC) & NHIA: How Can Nigeria Get It Right – The Role of the Media in Perspective,” and the sub-theme, “FP2030 Targets: Is Nigeria on Track?” which had members of ANHEJ and some development partners in attendance.
The Association further encouraged that they not relent in their financial and logistics supports, but continue to support Nigeria to design unique UHC models that will address the peculiar health needs of Nigerians, insisting that individual countries have peculiarities which could be approached distinctly.
The communique which was jointly signed by ANHEJ President and Secretary, Hassan Zagi and Nike Adebowale, respectively, maintained that WHO has been instrumental in the growth and development of the health sector in Nigeria by rendering the required technical support for proper policy formulation and implementation.
The Association, therefore, appealed to WHO to sustain and scale up ongoing collaborations with the Federal and State governments in order to improve the health status of Nigerians.
The health journalists association, however, agreed to work harmoniously with all stakeholders in the health sector in driving the full implementation of the adolescent health policies strategies which are geared towards provision of sexual and reproductive health services to young people in Nigeria.
In addition to that, they made a commitment to work with stakeholders, especially in the health sector towards driving the implementation of various health sector policies and strategies in Nigeria for healthy and productive citizenry.
ANHEJ vowed to improve its sensitization and awareness creation on the importance of health insurance so that political leaders, well-to-do individuals, states and local governments can enroll their citizens in health insurance.
ANHEJ also committed to monitor closely the implementation of the various health insurance packages and expose their weaknesses so that the NHIA and other relevant agencies of government can make the needed amendments for the good of all Nigerians.
To this end, ANHEJ agreed to convene a mid-year review meeting to assess the performance of the health insurance in Nigeria to see if there is any improvement following the aggressive sensitization by its members.
The Association commended all stakeholders including WHO, AHBN, Marie Stopes Nigeria, NMA, IHVN, individuals, and others who supported the cause of the conference, urging them to sustain the collaboration for the good of all Nigerians.