Resident doctors urge government to prioritise healthcare in budgets

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) yesterday urged the Federal Government to give priority to healthcare in budget allocations to enable Nigerians get quality health services in the country.

The association also charged the government to give Nigerians equal access to Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC), saying they deserve quality healthcare services.

Chairman, Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria (HMCAN), Babatunde Ladele, said this at this year’s Scientific Conference at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, while delivering a paper on Universal Health Care: Myth or Unsolved Mystery.

He said government should show political will and adequately fund the healthcare sector through innovative ways of increasing fiscal space through taxation.

Ladele added that the UHC made provision for all citizens regardless of their social status, saying individual contribution should not exceed 30 per cent of the total health expenditure.

‘’Universal health coverage means that everybody can access needed health services, including prevention, promotion, cure and rehabilitation of sufficient quality to be effective,” he said.

Also speaking, the General Secretary of ARD, Okanu Francis, added that the UHC was a myth, as there have been issues with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Senate.

He pointed out that with the UHC, which covers several services like specialised surgeries, gynecology, hematology and other specialties in medicine, there was the need to urgently resolve the crisis.

‘’Healthcare is central to life. It is both an asset and a tool for wealth creation and acquisition. As a result, there is always a drive to ensure a healthy status individually and corporately.

“And where ill health sets in, efforts and resources are deployed to restore health so as to protect wellbeing and the instrumental value of health. In view of the importance of good health, it is desirable that everyone should have access to good health care,” he said.