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Nigeria: Senate Passes Health Bill in Iyabo's Absence
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Vanguard (Lagos)
16 May 2008
Posted to the web 16 May 2008
Emmanuel Aziken
THE National Health bill seeking to enact a comprehensive health policy for the nation was passed by the Senate yesterday. The bill reportedly facilitated by part of the unspent N300 million Federal Ministry of Health budget was passed in the absence of the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello.
In her absence the Committee Vice-Chairman, Senator Gyang Dantong steered the bill through its final stages at yesterday's session presided over by the deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
The bill aims to establish a framework for the regulation, development and management of the national health system and underpins primary health care as the entry point into the national health system.
The bill also establishes a Primary Healthcare Development Fund which shall see to the provision of basic health care to as many as possible through the National Health Insurance Scheme. The fund is to be administered by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
The bill provides that funding for the Primary Health Care Development Fund shall come from "an amount not less than two per cent of the value of the Consolidated Revenue Fund as well as grants from international donor partners."
The bill stipulates a sharing formula in the utilisation of the fund to the effect that "fifty percent of the amount in the fund would be expended on basic health care for all citizens," while 25 per cent of the fund would be used to provide essential drugs for primary healthcare and 15 per cent of the fund would be used in providing and maintaining logistics used under the primary health care system.
The remaining 10 per cent of the fund would be utilised in the building of the capacity of human capacity used under the primary healthcare system.
The bill also sets guidelines for states and Local Governments to benefit from the fund. For the States, the bill provides that the State should provide at least ten percent of the cost of the project envisaged while Local Governments are to contribute 5 per cent of the cost of the project costs.
The Senate however turned down a proposal to hike the contribution of Local Governments to 50 per cent.
The bill also sets measures for the elimination of quackery in the sector. Health organisations and groups who employ quacks are subject to two year jail term or a fine of N500,000.
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A National Tertiary Hospitals Commission is also proposed in the bill and it would be vested with the responsibility of advising the President through the office of the Minister of Health on issues concerning teaching hospitals in the country.
Healthcare Bill for Nigeria Healthcare Service It is nice to hear of the interest of Nigeria Senate on healthcare development in Nigeria and the desire to underpin this essential public service by law. However, my concern which I have expressed in NTA TV programme, letter addressed to the Parliament, my articles and a book ‘Strategic Concept for Managing Healthcare in Nigeria’ is the need to establish a synergy that would allow co-ordination and seamless referral pathways across the boundaries of Health Centres through General Hospitals to Centres of Excellence (i.e. Teaching Hospitals). The three tiers of healthcare management; - Federal... [Read Full Text]
Healthcare Bill for Nigeria Healthcare Service
It is nice to hear of the interest of Nigeria Senate on healthcare development in Nigeria and the desire to underpin this essential public service by law. However, my concern which I have expressed in NTA TV programme, letter addressed to the Parliament, my articles and a book ‘Strategic Concept for Managing Healthcare in Nigeria’ is the need to establish a synergy that would allow co-ordination and seamless referral pathways across the boundaries of Health Centres through General Hospitals to Centres of Excellence (i.e. Teaching Hospitals). The three tiers of healthcare management; - Federal... [Read Full Text]
Healthcare Bill for Nigeria Healthcare Service
It is nice to hear of the interest of Nigeria Senate on healthcare development in Nigeria and the desire to underpin this essential public service by law. However, my concern which I have expressed in NTA TV programme, letter addressed to the Parliament, my articles and a book ‘Strategic Concept for Managing Healthcare in Nigeria’ is the need to establish a synergy that would allow co-ordination and seamless referral pathways across the boundaries of Health Centres through General Hospitals to Centres of Excellence (i.e. Teaching Hospitals). The three tiers of healthcare management; - Federal... [Read Full Text]
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