Health

NGO Launches Draft Bill on Proposed Health Development Bank of Nigeria

Published

1 year ago

August 3, 2023

NGO Launches Draft Bill on Proposed Health Development Bank of Nigeria
… Says Sugar & Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Tax Capable of Yielding USD 4.8 billion Annually to Finance Nation’s Health Sector

By: Michael Mike

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has put forward a proposal for the establishment of a Health Development Bank in a move towards strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system.

The announcement was made by the Lead Director of CSJ, Eze Onyekpere, during a workshop on “Innovative and Alternative Funding of the Health Sector” held in Abuja on Wednesday.

The current state of healthcare financing in Nigeria has been a cause for concern, with allocations to the health sector averaging a mere 5% of the federal budget over the last five years (2018-2022). These allocations encompass capital, recurrent, statutory transfers, and other vital aspects of the health sector, but still fall far short of meeting the sector’s demands.

According to Onyekpere, the CSJ’s proposal for a Health Development Bank seeks to address the financial constraints faced by the health sector, he noted that: “If implemented, the bank will provide a predictable and sustainable source of funding for critical health projects, ensuring that funds are tied to specific results and milestones in line with national health policies and goals.”

Currently, a significant portion of Nigeria’s health budget is dedicated to recurrent expenditure, leaving minimal room for capital investments in health infrastructure and upgrades. Onyekpere said “The proposed Health Development Bank would enable targeted investments in areas such as health facilities, medical equipment, digital technology for telemedicine, and improvements in pharmaceutical production, including the manufacture of critical vaccines and pharmaceutical ingredients.”

One of the pressing challenges in the health sector is the lack of access to basic medical equipment in primary healthcare facilities. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 41% of such facilities had access to such equipment in 2018. Additionally, many health facilities suffer from inadequate access to electricity, water, and sanitation, affecting the quality of healthcare services provided.

The Health Development Bank aims to address these issues by supporting infrastructure provision and upgrades in health facilities, fostering an enabling environment for quality healthcare delivery. This, in turn, will reduce the need for medical tourism, saving the country over $1 billion annually.

Onyekpere said: “The bank will be instrumental in improving Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry, which currently heavily relies on imports. By providing funds for infrastructure, technology, and human resource development, the bank can stimulate local production of critical pharmaceuticals and vaccines, enhancing the nation’s health security.”

The proposal also emphasizes the need to invest in the health workforce to bridge the significant gaps in healthcare personnel. Nigeria’s doctor-to-patient ratio is far below the desired levels, and the country needs an additional 149,700 doctors to achieve the ideal 1 doctor to 1000 patients ratio. The Health Development Bank would develop a human resource loan scheme to facilitate the training and development of essential healthcare professionals.

If approved and implemented, the Health Development Bank has the potential to transform Nigeria’s healthcare landscape, increasing access to quality healthcare, generating jobs, improving tax revenue, and enhancing the nation’s GDP contribution.

The proposal is set to be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration, and stakeholders in the health sector are eagerly awaiting the outcome. Experts believe that the establishment of a Health Development Bank could be the much-needed boost that Nigeria’s health sector requires to reach its full potential and deliver world-class healthcare services to its citizens.

READ ALSO: https://dailypost.ng/2023/08/02/niger-tribunal-set-to-give-ruling-on-17-petitions-445-exhibits/

Earlier, CSJ’s Programme Manager, Public Finance, Dr Chidi Sundayson, during a paper presentation on “Sugar & Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax as Alternative Source of Healthcare Funding,” estimated that an SSB tax in Nigeria has the potential to generate approximately 1% of the country’s GDP, equivalent to USD 4.77 billion. This revenue could significantly contribute to funding the health sector and strengthening healthcare and health systems in the nation.

Sundayson said “In light of Nigeria’s current revenue challenges and mounting debt burden, adopting the SSB tax as an alternative funding source is a critical consideration. By ploughing back the resources generated from the tax into the health sector, transparency and accountability can be ensured through well-designed systems for tax collection and administration.”

He added that SSB tax offers a promising opportunity to bridge the funding gap and improve healthcare for all Nigerians. With the Sustainable Development Goals still seven years away, decisive action is required to make significant strides towards better health outcomes.

NGO Launches Draft Bill on Proposed Health Development Bank of Nigeria

Health

NSCDC Takes Medical Outreach to Community in Nasarawa

Published

5 days ago

January 17, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NSCDC Takes Medical Outreach to Community in Nasarawa

By: Michael Mike

The Nigeria Security and Civil. Defence Corps have continued to strengthen collaborations with one of the best HMOs in Nigeria, the United Healthcare International Ltd., this is in a bid to improve the well being of the serving officers and some host communities and also improve on grassroot security techniques and effective information gathering to forestall criminality.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a medical outreach organised by the NSCDC Commandant General, Dr Ahmed Audi, said the partnership with the United Healthcare International has positively impacted the Corps hence in order to give back to the communities and further foster and improve on the existing synergy between NSCDC and host communities, the Medical Health Service Department of the NSCDC organized the medical outreach programme to promote effective collaborations.

Delivering a goodwill message while representing the CG at the opening ceremony, ACG Ilelaboye Oyejide reiterated the commitment of the Corps to enhancing the health and well being of not only officers and men of the Corps but also the host
communities.

“In carrying out our statutory mandates, it requires the supports of the host communities for positive results and this is why the NSCDC is concerned about the state of health and wellness of the people.

“As an agency with the roles and responsibility of Disaster mitigation we belief that the free medical outreach organized for the people will go a long way to further cement the existing working relationship of the Corps and the entire community”.

The NSCDC Boss hinted that the Medical outreach would be carried out in various communities as time unfolds he noted that the Corps medical officers alongside the United Healthcare HMOs would be at Laminga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State for the first phase in the year.

NSCDC Takes Medical Outreach to Community in Nasarawa

Health

Korean Film Festival Returns to Nigeria After COVID-19 Break

Published

4 months ago

September 22, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Korean Film Festival Returns to Nigeria After COVID-19 Break

By: Michael Mike

The Korean Embassy in Nigeria has commenced the Korean Film Festival in Nigeria after it went on break during the CIVID-19 pandemic.

The latest edition is the 12th Edition of the festival and was hosted at the Silverbird Cinema, in Abuja between 19th September to 21st September 2024 with several movies screened.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Korean ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Pankyu, expressed delight with the return of the festival after it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

He said: “I have come to deeply feel that South Korea and Nigeria share a strong cultural affinity, especially in their love for music and dance.

“Due to this cultural affinity, various elements, such as fashion and cuisine, along with music, are resonating in Nigeria.

“Particularly, there has been a significant surge in the spread of dramas and films.”

He added that: “Along with the global hit ‘Squid Game’ in 2021, the most-watched drama series on Netflix Nigeria in 2022 was ‘Alchemy of souls’.

“Thus, I have come to realise the importance of introducing Korean films to Nigeria, one of the world’s top 3 film-producing countries.”

Also speaking at the event, the Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Mr Obi Asika, said millions of Nigerians had fallen in love with K-pop [Korean music] and K-drama [Korean drama].

He said Nigeria would continue to learn from the Koreans to improve its entertainment industry.

Korean Film Festival Returns to Nigeria After COVID-19 Break

Health

New UNAIDS Report that Debt Crisis Has Left Health Chronically Underfunded in Africa

Published

4 months ago

September 19, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

New UNAIDS Report that Debt Crisis Has Left Health Chronically Underfunded in Africa

By: Michael Mike

Growing public debt is choking sub-Saharan African countries, leaving them with little fiscal room to finance health and critical HIV services, a new report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS).

The report said domestic revenues, debt relief and development aid: Transformative pathways for ending AIDS by 2030 Eastern and Southern Africa/ Western and Central Africa, shows that the debt crisis is putting in jeopardy progress made towards ending AIDS.

It added that sub-Saharan Africa accounts for the largest number of people living with HIV, with more than 25.9 million people of the 39.9 million living with HIV globally. The region’s success in having reduced new HIV infections by 56% since 2010 will not be sustained if fiscal space is constrained.

The report, released ahead of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, showed that the combination of growing public debt payments and spending cuts set out in International Monetary Fund agreements in the next three to five years will, if unaddressed, leave countries dangerously under resourced to fund their HIV responses.

The UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said: “When countries cannot effectively look after the health care needs of their people because of debt payments, global health security is put at risk,” adding that: “Public debt needs to be urgently reduced and domestic resource mobilization strengthened to enable the fiscal space to fully fund the global HIV response and end AIDS.”

The report said debt servicing now exceeds 50% of government revenues in Angola, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia, adding that even after debt relief measures, Zambia will still be paying two-thirds of its budget on debt servicing between 2024 and 2026.

It said there has been a noted decline in HIV response spending since 2017 in Western and Central Africa, from 0.3% of GDP in 2017 to just 0.12% in 2022.

It said Western and Central Africa will need to mobilize US$ 4.18 billion to fully fund the HIV response in 2024. This will climb to US$ 7.9 billion by 2030 unless efforts are scaled up today to stop new HIV infections.

While US$ 20.8 billion was available for the HIV response in 2022 in low and middle-income countries through both domestic and international sources, this funding was not enough to sufficiently finance the HIV response. Western and Central Africa for example had a funding shortfall of 32% in 2022.

In 2024 alone, Eastern and Southern Africa will need to mobilize almost US$ 12 billion to fully fund the HIV response. This amount will climb to around US$ 17 billion by 2030 unless new HIV infections are reduced.

It said to enable increased domestic resource mobilization for countries to respond effectively to their pandemics, sub-Saharan African countries will need to strengthen their tax systems, including closing tax exemptions which currently cost countries an average of 2.6% of GDP in lost revenue across the region. Donors need also to scale up financial assistance for health and the HIV response between now and 2030, while creditors should offer debt relief to heavily indebted countries to ease the burden.

Byanyima said: “World leaders cannot let a resource crunch derail global progress to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.”

New UNAIDS Report that Debt Crisis Has Left Health Chronically Underfunded in Africa