Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Health Sector Reform Coalition (HSRC) has enjoined political parties to prioritise and make commitments towards ensuring quality healthcare service delivery for Nigerians.
The coalition, which comprises about 100 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other non-governmental actors made the call yesterday during a town hall meeting to commemorate the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day in Abuja.
The theme of the town hall meeting was: “Health for all Nigerians: Leaving No One Behind’.
Chairperson of HSRC, Chika Offor, called on the leadership at all levels to do more to change the state of healthcare delivery in Nigeria in the face of the mounting existential and emerging health threats.
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She said they should do so by implementing the Vulnerable Group Fund of the National Health Insurance Act, prioritising health spending to achieve the Abuja Declaration spending target, as well as minimising wastage in the health sector.
Executive Secretary of the Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFORN), Dr Celestine Okorie, said political commitment was key to the attainment of UHC in Nigeria.
National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, who was represented by Rev Chidi Jacob, said the National Health Act 2014 was at the centre of the party’s manifesto.
Director of Strategy and Planning of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Dr Pedro Obaseki, said the candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, had made it clear that all that was needed to move forward was to have a healthy workforce.