The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, has restated the commitment of the Federal Government to improving healthcare delivery.
Alausa stressed that the ministry is committed to improving the healthcare indices of the nation.
He noted that the ministry’s strides to unlocking the healthcare value chain are in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Alausa, while speaking at the JCN international anniversary in Lagos on Monday, disclosed readiness to immediately address the mortality indices in the country.
“Getting pregnant and having a child is a thing of joy and should not become a source of sadness.
“Our maternal mortality indices are unacceptable and it is one of the things we are addressing immediately,” the minister’s stated.
The Commissioner for Health in the state, Professor Akin Abayomi, while speaking at the event also stressed the crucial role of the private sector in healthcare delivery in the state, adding that, “There is a need to improve collaboration between public and private sector for improved healthcare services.”
Panelists at the event include Professor Ahmed Ahidjo, Chief Medical Director of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital; Mrs Fola Laoye, Co-Founder and CEO of Iwosan Investment; Dr Pamela Ajayi, President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria; Dr Adedamola Dada, Medical Director of the Federal Medical Center, Ebute Metta, and Njide Ndili, the Country Representative for PharmAccess Foundation, stressed the vital roles collaboration had played in the course of their work.
Alausa earlier disclosed that the Federal Government has put in place plans and strategies to double the population of medical and dental doctors from 5,000 to 10,000 starting from the next academic year by increasing admissions into medical and dental institutions.
Alausa said the mass exodus of licensed doctors and other health professionals to more developed countries would be discouraged by making the healthcare environment more attractive.
“Equally, we shall expand these opportunities to all other health professionals like pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists, community health extension workers, radiographers, and others. Although this will be in phases. We shall create room to produce more and excess because globally, there’s a shortage of health manpower, which has been estimated at a shortage of 18 million people,” he stated.
According to him, the just over 3,000 doctors produced annually in Nigeria remain grossly inadequate, hence, the need to double the rate of production of health workers.