Stakeholders Call For Healthcare System Reform

STAKEHOLDERS have called for proper financing of the healthcare sector in the country.

The call was made in Lagos by the Association of Resident Doctors.

The Managing Director, AIICO Multishield Care, Dr. Leke Osunniyi, called for the sector’s reform.

Speaking on the theme, “Reforming The Nigerian Health Care System For Sustainable Growth”, Osunniyi described the budgetary allocation to health as poor.

Osunniyi said,  “Health care system is not free, someone has to pay but the question is who? Nigerians need to insure their health because of unforeseen future circumstances seeing

“If 10 million Nigerians subscribe to health insurance worth of N8000, you have N80 billionn but only 13 million people pay tax and 8 million out of those tax payers are in Lagos. Nigeria generates one of the worst GDP per capita from tax because most Nigerians do not pay tax.”

According to Osunniyi,  Nigerians need to key into health insurance scheme.

“The government can decide to buy into the health sector by paying for ceasarian section surgeries of about 80 or more people in order to help them access health treatment,” he said.

Osunniyi said fragmentation, importation and all the other issues should be eradicated.

“This will help us control funds, train resident doctors, plan and strategise on how the health sector can be more efficient and effective,” Osunniyi said.

He stated that funds meant for health should be put in a safe place that would be accessible during health crisis.

According to him, money for health should be aggregated into a pool for effective planning and strategy.

“If we keep importing everything that we need, there will be a problem in price control,” Osunniyi said.

A former Chief Medical Director of LASUTH and chairman of the event,  Dr. Adewale Oke, said “resident doctors need to be
taken care of so that they don’t keep travelling out of the country in search of greener pastures.”

The organiser of the event, Dr. Oluwafemi Hassan, said the programme was to reawaken doctors and to also let the government know about areas in healthcare system that required urgent reforms.