FG Launches Second National Health Plan

Paul Obi in Abuja

The federal government Thursday launched the second National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP) to deepen healthcare service delivery in the country.

The new NSHDP was initiated after the first plan came to an end in 2015 after a five-year period.

Lauching the new plan at the ongoing National Council on Health (NCH) in Kano State, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, explained that the five-year plan will help to foster efficient healthcare services across the country.

Adewole said, “I am glad to inform you that the long awaited Second National Strategic Health Development Plan is now ready. Nigeria now has another well-articulated and robust plan, which is the product of vigorous and extensive work by government and all our stakeholders.”

He added that in view of the significance of the NHDP II in the realisation of government’s goal of increasing access, improving health outcomes and achieving universal health coverage remain strategic in the provision of adequate healthcare around the country.

Also, the government also gave official approval for the establishment of traditional and alternative medicine department in the Federal Ministry of Health.

The approval for the establishment of the department, which was given by the Office of the Head of Service (HOS) will for the first time give official recognition to traditional African medicine in the country.
Adewole informed the council that “the new department will provide leadership in our effort to give prominence to traditional medicine in Nigeria.

According to him, “We encourage Honorable Commissioners to follow through and facilitate the establishment of Department of Traditional, Complimentary & Alternative Medicine at the state level.”

The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Enahire, and the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Clement Uwaifo, also made presentations on Universal Health Care (UHC) and health care management.

In another development, the minister alongside the Emir of Kano, Muhammed Sanusi II, and the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, commissioned TB Mobile detection facility at the Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital Kano, Kano State.

They also launched Access to Care for Enrollee of Kano State Contributory Health Scheme (KSCHS), Free Breast Cancer Screening Programme for 1,000 women as well as distribution of Laptops and Internet Modems to Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Officers in the State.

Speaking about the projects, the minister said: “people like you make my work easy, while some called on me to help them but the message from your Excellency is come and see what we are doing.”

He added that the “Wellness on Wheels (WoW) programme on TB was aimed at providing diagnostic facility and treatment to Tuberculosis patients at their door step” adding that, “Nigeria was one of the countries with large number of undetected TB patients in the world, Nigeria detected only 25%, the remaining 75% patients were not known and they also did not know that they were TB Patients.”

Governor Ganduje explained that the rationale behind establishing Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital was to provide services not only to the Kano State populace, but to tge entire country.

He said, “Our intention is not only to serve the people of Kano State but to make Kano center of medical tourism in order to reduce foreign medical tourism”

The Emir of Kano, Sanusi II called on Nigerians, especially the wealthy, to support government at all levels with health facilities and health equipment as government alone cannot cater for the need of all Nigerians in the health sector.