Physicians ask state governors to adequately fund rural health care

Tribune Online
Physicians ask state governors to adequately fund rural health care

Nigerian physicians under the aegis of West African College of Physicians have asked state governors to adequately fund rural health care delivery in the country.

While berating the low funding allocated to the health sector, the physicians noted that there is a huge gap in the health sector across the country.

National chairman of the association in Nigeria, Abel Onunu stated this shortly after the college’s 43rd Annual General and Scientific Meeting held in Abeokuta.

Onunu who also doubles as the college vice president said that state governors and not the Federal Government should be held responsible for poor health care delivery in the country, adding that the state and local governments have abandoned the funding of the health sector to the federal government.

He said, “One of the key things that came out in the conference is that it seems the state governments have not been investing enough in the health care system in the state. A lot of the burden is on the head of the Federal Government alone to carry.

ALSO READ: Customs impound rotten ponmo, N1.6m Cannabis Sativa in Seme

“The decision we made at this meeting is that the state governors need to allocate more resources to health care in their states and we believed this would go down to the grassroots and make the people in the neglected area to benefit from health care service of the government.

“So far, it is the Federal Government that is the biggest employer of medical personnel. We want the state governments to start employing health personnel, not just doctors, but, nurses, pharmacists, among others so that they can remain in the country.

“The other major decision we looked at was that the funding for training is not enough, governments need to fund the post-graduate medical college. We also identified that there is a huge gap in health care governance in the country; we need to put those facilities in place to strengthen health care governance in Nigeria.”

Physicians ask state governors to adequately fund rural health care
Tribune Online