The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the health sector.
Fayinka Oluwatoyin, a member representing Mushin Federal Constituency II in Lagos State, made this call in light of the country’s alarming state of health facilities, particularly in rural regions.
Fayinka’s motion at a plenary session in Abuja on Tuesday emphasized the need for collaboration between the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency and relevant health agencies at state and local government levels.
According to Fayinka, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is dealing with a health crisis that has gone unaddressed for far too long.
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Fayinka explained that around 34,000 of the country’s 39,893 hospitals are primary healthcare centres and only 20 per cent of these healthcare centres are functional. He went on to say that the situation is especially troubling in rural areas, where there is a severe lack of adequate facilities and staffing.
In addition, he pointed out that a lack of essential medical equipment, beds, drugs and competent employees has led to an increase in the death toll in healthcare centres across the country.
To address this issue, Hon Fayinka has proposed a redevelopment plan with a budget allocation of $80 million to provide additional bed spaces.
He warned that in the past, poor representation of primary healthcare ministries hindered proper financing and access to quality treatment in rural areas, adding that state and federal health ministries must revive their primary healthcare initiatives at the grassroots level.
Following Hon Fayinka’s proposal, the House encouraged the Federal Ministry of Health to work with state ministries, local government areas (LGAs), and other relevant stakeholders to form a task force to eradicate unethical medical practices.
