The First Lady of Kebbi State, Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, said strengthening the primary healthcare level of care in the country was important in addressing the scourge of infectious and chronic diseases.
She said it was also important to provide state-of-the-art equipment for diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
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Speaking during the Daily Trust virtual conference on COVID-19, Bagudu, who is also the Director, Union for International Cancer Control, and Founder, Medicaid Cancer Foundation, said other positive springboard to chronic diseases include increase in health budgetary allocation, and strengthening the health system via financial support from cooperate organizations and non-governmental organisations.
Dr Bagudu said opportunities to revive the Nigerian health services are, “increasing the capacity of the healthcare professionals and developing infrastructure, expanding insurance coverage, collaborations and partnership, as well as e-Health.”
“The key lesson is that we now know a lot, people are acquainted with the signs and symptoms and how to safeguard themselves from the virus and in particular social distancing, the use of face masks and importantly personal hygiene,” she said.
Dr Bagudu added that in the last 10 years , the Medicaid Cancer Foundation has raised over N254 million for cancer patients, conducted free breast, cervical and prostate cancer screening with provision of HPV vaccine, provided COVID-19 palliatives, vaccinated 1, 350 students, and conducted 128 community outreaches, among others.
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