Private-sector doctors in the country under the aegis of the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN) have called on the federal government to establish a health bank as obtainable for agriculture and industry.
National President, of the association, Dr Iyke Odo, made the call Friday in Abuja during a dialogue on private sector intervention in healthcare.
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He said “We are calling on government to come to the understanding that the private sector is the future of our healthcare system.
“We need a health bank just as we have for agriculture and industry that supports agricultural production and industrialization.
“We need it to support the country’s health system. That is the secret of India, Europe, and America.”
He said doctors are not supposed to be borrowing money from banks at the same interest rate as oil companies, adding “We are not businessmen. We are social welfare workers. We don’t make jumbo profit. We are there to support the people; three out of 10 patients don’t pay for our services because Nigerians are poor.”
He said the private sector dialogue was put together to develop a blueprint on the way out of the country’s troubled, weak and sick health system.
According to him, the association is launching a N10 billion private sector intervention fund to save the lives of one million Nigerian women and children in the next five years, educate 100 million Nigerians on health insurance for actualization of universal health coverage (UHC), so that by 2030 the country would have joined the comity of healthcare nations.
Governor of Ekiti state, Kayode Fayemi, said solutions to tackling Nigeria’s health sector challenges include, increased investment in heath security, investment in the capacity of health workers, and improved health financing among others.
“Investing in health, brings measurable benefits to the nation, lifting many out of poverty and ensuring Universal Health Coverage . Ladies and Gentlemen , strategic investment in health is the road to recovery,” he said
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