ABUJA – The Senate Committee on Health has debunked claims that the government has stopped paying attention to other health challenges since the emergence of Covid-19.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, stated this while briefing Senate Correspondents on the 4th annual Legislative Summit on Health on Thursday in Abuja.
Oloriegbe, who confirmed that only 50% of the N500b Intervention Fund for Covid-19 has so far been released, assured that the government is paying serious attention to tackling other dangerous diseases like Lassa Fever, Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, amongst others.
According to him, “the committee will review the State of the health of the nation and the national health system; the role of adequate financing as the nexus for UHC and health security in Nigeria, and what opportunities exist for the Health Sector to leverage; and leveraging lessons from COVID-19 national and subnational responses to improve the health security landscape”.
“It is our sincere hope that this year’s Summit to build on past successes to impact positively on the health sector and Nigeria as a whole”, he added.
The lawmaker noted that the overall objective of setting up the Legislative Network was to effectively leverage statutory functions of the Legislature in Nigeria for improved health financing towards Universal Health Coverage.
The annual Legislative Summit on Health is a product of the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage, primarily of legislators with members of the Executive Arm of Government and non-state actors participating to provide institutional contexts focused on the health sector.
It is convened annually to provide a platform for Nigerian Legislators to confer, and resolve on matters pertaining to the resilience of the health sector to provide equitable quality of care to citizens.
Thus, the Summit is a tool of the Network used by legislators to collectively strategies on how to achieve these objectives. Every year since the first Summit was convened in July 2017 (except 2020 because of COVID-19), Legislators have gathered with this singular purpose. To rub minds, to discuss, to analyse health situations in the country, to make decisions and take a stand on the way forward to solve whatever challenges that each State may face, within respective contexts.
The Summits have continued to be a rallying point of learning, interaction and agenda setting for legislators and other key actors in the health sector across the country.
