Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has threatened to take legal action against the Federal Government for failing to include the provisions of the National Health Act, NHA, in the 2017 budget. President of the association, Dr Mike Ogirima,
hinted at a stakeholders’ advocacy and awareness walk for implementation of provisions of the NHA organised by NMA in Abuja yesterday.
Ogirima explained that the main aim of the walk to the Presidential Villa was to drop a letter with President Muhammadu Buhari, calling on the government to immediately implement the act after two years.
The NMA president said the Act, which was enacted two years ago, has the potentials to turn around the bastardised health sector.
He identified the benefits of the Act to include improving funds to the health sector, increase access to quality and affordable healthcare, availability of emergency services across the country, reduction in out of pocket expenditure by citizens.
Others are improved maternal and child care, increased levels and efficient entrenchment of clinical governance.
He regretted that two years after the enactment of the Act, the Federal Government was yet to capture or make budgetary provisions for its implementation.
He described the country’s maternal and child mortality rate as alarming, noting that 35 of 100 live births and 450 per 1000 live births was not good enough.
According to him, operationalisation of the Act with increase enrolment in the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, will bring about the much desired Universal Health Coverage which is the way to ensure healthy citizens.
Ogirima assured Nigerians that the association would sustain its advocacy until government operationalised all the provisions in the Act.
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