By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Nigerian Youth Champions for Universal Health Coverage (NYC4UHC), has urged President, Muhammadu Buhari, to involve youths in his journey towards revamping the country’s health sector out of its current challenges.
The youths group also called for inclusion of young people in all Ministerial Technical Working Groups; COVID-19 Presidential Task Force; Immunisation Expert Review Committee; and the COVID-19 Advisory Committee.
Speaking on Saturday in Abuja, at a press conference to mark the 2020 Universal Health Coverage Day, the acting Chairperson, NYC4UHC, Ms. Oyeyemi Pitan, said there was urgent need for active participation in the health sector polices designing and implementation to achieve Universal Health Coverage(UHC).
She said this year’s theme; “protect everyone”, was apt considering the global challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic.
She averred that UHC is the frontline defense for picking up and responding to unusual illnesses in communities and building trust in health systems.
“UHC directly contributes to reducing poverty by removing financial barriers to essential care.
“Based on this, we need a comprehensive healthcare especially at the primary level, which is the first line of defense against outbreaks, and the foundation for strong health care systems, basic health care which is crucial in setting up emergency response plans so that the current and future pandemics are contained and managed with as little damage as possible.
“Allocate not less than 2% of the CRF for UHC in the 2021 budget with effective implementation strategies for its actualization is also necessary”.
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