Senate raises hope on Public Health Emergency Bill

Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, says there is a high chance that President Muhammadu Buhari will sign the Public Health Emergency Bill before his tenure ends on May 29.

He stated this yesterday in Abuja during a media roundtable with legislators, organised by the Nigeria Health Watch, in collaboration with the Global Health Advocacy Incubator.

He said the National Assembly was at the stage of harmonisation of the bill

The bill repealed the 96-year-old Quarantine Act and sought to provide a comprehensive legal framework for managing public health emergencies of national and international concern.

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Olorieghe urged the incoming government to increase the health budget to a minimum of 10 percent in the first year and then meet up with the 15 percent health budget allocation of the Abuja Declaration within four years.

Chairman, House Committee on Health Services, Tanko Sununu, said the National Assembly had made efforts towards improving funding and effective response to disease outbreaks as evidenced in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Managing Director, Nigeria Health Watch, Vivianne Ihekweazu, said the proposed legislation would help address the gaps in the existing one that hampered effective response to public health emergencies in the country.