NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO SET ASIDE 1% OF CRF FOR PRIMARY HEALTHCARE, SAYS SARAKI
The President of the Senate further decried s situation where Nigeria ranks amongst the top countries visiting international shores for medical treatment and support, lamenting that the country loses over $1bn annually to medical tourism which is untenable and unsustainable.
“Some countries even go to great lengths to streamline certain aspects of their health policies specifically for Nigerians,” Saraki said. “It is a damning indictment of what we have not been able to provide for our own citizens in this country, such that a great many feel they have to go elsewhere, at great cost to the individual and collective purse.”
He said he is optimistic that with Nigeria’s upward review in the Ease of Doing Business index, coupled with the right government support, Public Private Partnership (PPP) would yield a positive result for the nation’s medical system, “so that we may begin to reverse the trend of medical tourism.”
“In addition, we must find a way to reverse another negative trend in the system, which is the gradual loss of our doctors and brightest brains to foreign medical institutions. This drain in medical expertise is plain to see, and should be a major concern for all of us. In acknowledging the feats and strides of our citizens in the diaspora, we must also recognise the need to build, harness and sustain local content’,he added.
“We cannot achieve our collective goals as a people without developing this country to the point where we are self-sufficient. Let me assure you all that we in the National Assembly are always focused toward policies that positively affect the lives of the average Nigerian. In so doing, amongst other duties, we seek to provide not just the legislative framework but the political will for institutions such as yours to get things done,” he said.
