Adewole, World Bank Chief: Why We’re Involved in THISDAY Healthcare Financing Summit

• Tejuoso: Summit is critical to addressing our healthcare challenges

By Martins Ifijeh

Key stakeholders in the THISDAY Healthcare Financing Policy Dialogue holding tomorrow in Abuja – the Nigerian Representative and Chief of Health, Nutrition and Population of the World Bank, Dr. Benjamin Loevinsohn; Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, and the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Lanre Tejuoso – have explained that the event will help in charting the way forward for an improved healthcare financing model for a sustained investment in the provision of quality healthcare for Nigerians.

Loevinsohn said the World Bank was involved in the summit holding at the Musa Yar’Adua Conference Centre  because it was concerned that Nigeria spends less on healthcare than almost any other country in the world, resulting in poor Nigerians paying out of pocket for their health

He noted that most poor Nigerians are unable to afford adequate healthcare.

“This government’s low spending also means the country is unable to spend adequately for health services and facilities. For instance, only about 10 per cent of Nigerian children are immunised, whereas in Chad and Niger, about 30 per cent and 50 per cent are immunised, respectively.

“In addition, Nigeria is pretty much the worst place in West Africa to be a poor child or a poor mother. Again, this outcome is worse than in Lake Chad and in Niger. This is a real problem we can’t wish away. That is why we are involved,” he added.

He said he believed the summit would be able to address this, and provide a platform to chart a way forward for the benefit of Nigerians.

“We hope this summit will make a difference in the model currently practised in the country,” he added. Adewole in a chat with THISDAY yesterday, he said the summit was critical because healthcare financing was the key to Universal Health Coverage (UHC)

Tejuoso on his part described the summit as timely, adding that it would encourage government to, as a last chance, make a difference in remodelling the proposed 2018 budget for increased allocation to the health sector.

“I believe this is our last chance to improve funding through the budget. Accordingly, for the 2018 budget which the executive and the National Assembly are already concluding presently. this is critical to addressing our healthcare challenges.

“We should not reinvent the wheel. Successful African countries in the health sector have one thing in common: their annual health budget averages 15 per cent of their total national budget,” he added.

According to him, Nigeria is yet to exceed five per cent health sector funding, adding that what he and other stakeholders were advocating was for the country to achieve the inclusion of one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in the health budget from 2018 as stipulated in the 2014 Health Act.

The summit, tagged: ‘Moving Nigeria Towards Universal Health Coverage through Appropriate Financing, aims to galvanise discussions on why the country should prioritise financing of the health sector as a bastion of human capital development that is critical for the attainment of the Economic and Growth Recovery Plan (EGRP) of the administration.

Dignitaries expected to headline the summit include members of the World Bank Group; Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Minister of State for Health, Osagie Ehanire; Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Osagie Okunbor, President, Global Development Programme, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chris Elias; Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator John Owan Enoh; Chairman, House Committee on Primary Healthcare Service, Hon. Chike Okafor; and Chairman, House Committee on Health Institution, Hon Jocelyn Betty Apiafi.

Among the World Bank chiefs expected at the summit are the Director, Health Nutrition Population of the World Bank Group, Washington, Olusoji Adeyi; the Country Director, World Bank Nigeria, Rachid Benmassoud; Chair of Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation (GAVI) and former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala; and CEO GAVI, Seth Berkley.

Adeyi, who is the keynote speaker at the summit, is a Nigerian currently heading the Health, Nutrition, and Population Directorate of the World Bank Group in Washington.

He is described as a firm advocate for adequate healthcare financing and believes investment in health is a powerful driver of economic growth and overall development.

THISDAY’s Board of Directors and Editorial Board believe the summit would be a policy dialogue where major healthcare organisations/individuals and the political class in the country will meet under one roof to chart a way forward for an improved healthcare financing model for the better health of Nigerians.

It believes the policy dialogue is necessary because the country’s health sector allocation in the national budget has continued to decline over the years despite the increase of diseases and mortality rates in the country.