FG vows to provide accessible health services to Nigerians

By Abbas Aminu Bamalli

The Federal Government has vowed to do everything possible to ensure that it provides accessible health services to all Nigerians.

President Goodluck Jonathan stated this yesterday in Abuja while declaring open the Presidential Summit on Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

The President who was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, advised Nigerians to embrace and enrol in national health insurance scheme in order to have access to affordable health care services.

President Jonathan said, “We are hosting this Summit to establish a unified front, and accelerate progress towards Universal Health Coverage that meets the needs of our people.

“Government is not unaware of the numerous challenges limiting the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UCH) in our country, and the importance of political commitment in surmounting these challenges.

The World Bank’s case study of 11 countries that have made significant progress in UHC, affirmed that political leadership and commitment is the key driving force for achieving UHC”, he said.

Earlier in his welcome address, the minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu said: “This summit reaffirms our resolve to find solutions to our health system challenges as well as invest strategically to improve equitable access to health care at all levels.

“Universal Health Coverage will therefore ensure that as a country, we make the right investments in human development that will enable us reap the demographic dividends and usher in a period of economic growth similar to the pattern observed in East Asia”, the minister disclosed.