The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali-Pate, has said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu will address the pressing challenges in the Nigerian health sector.
Mr Pate stated this on Thursday at the opening of 13th Biennial Delegates Meeting, BDM, and Scientific Conference of Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria, MDCAN, in Kano.
The minister, represented by Prof. Abdulrahman Sheshe, Chief Medical Director, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, admitted that there are numerous challenges bidevilling the country’s health sector.
He said, “the government could not ignore the fact that there are problems of braindrain, poor funding, poor facility and obsolete equipment.
“People, especially women in rural areas are suffering due to lack of good facilities and access roads, causing maternal complications that sometimes lead to death.
“But, this administration is resolved to fix all these problems and improve our health sector,” he added.
The minister said the federal government was ready to work with medical associations such the MDCAN in a bid to achieve the aim of improving the health sector.
In his remarks earlier, the President of the MDCAN, Dr Victor Makanjuola, lamented the exodus of medical consultants out of the country in search for greener pastures.
“Medical education, just as clinical service delivery is taking a big hit from the exodus of consultants from the country to “greener” pastures.
“This is in addition to surreptitious turf encroachment often manifesting as curriculum upgrade by allied health professionals.
“The need to have frank discussion and innovate speedily to address these challenges cannot be over emphasized,” Mr Makanjuola added.
Earlier in his remarks, the Kano State Commissioner of Health, Dr Yusuf Labaran, commended the MDCAN for the choice of the theme and Kano for this year’s programme.
Mr Yusuf, represented by Prof. Salisu Ibrahim-Ahmed, Executive Secretary, Private Health Institutions Management Agency, PHIMA, disclosed the state government, in its commitment to improving healthcare services, had tackled the menace of diphtheria in the state.
According to him, the government is also planning to employ more medical doctors in health facilities across the state in a bid to achieve improvement in the sector.
He also hinted that the state government was planning to establish one general hospital in each of the 44 local government areas in the state.
