Brown Advocates Universal Health Coverage, Health Security for Nigeria

Ayodeji Ake

The Founder, Flying Doctors Nigeria, Dr. Ola Brown has advocated for universal health coverage and health security in the country, noting that this will improve healthcare services.

Speaking at the fifth Annual Crans Montana Forum in Dakar recently, during her plenary session themed ‘Universal Health Coverage and Health Security’, she noted that the health sector was facing challenges.

According to the trainee helicopter pilot and pioneer of West Africa’s first Indigenous and leading air ambulance service, “poor logistics is one of the most significant global health problems, and air ambulances help address this challenge”.

She attributes this to the logistical solution that she and her team provide, which enable as well as facilitate the delivery of healthcare services for all by providing timely access to advanced medical care.
“This solution is especially important in Africa due to the poor road infrastructure and long distances to tertiary hospitals.”

She also emphasised the ability of air ambulances to make healthcare more affordable as critically unwell persons could be transferred to centralised hospitals and minor cases handled in primary healthcare centers.

Structured under the high patronage of H.R.M King Mohammed VI, the Crans Montana Forum is a yearly event that brings together high ranking government officials (Heads of State and Government, ministers, parastatals), international organisations and bodies alike from all over Africa and the world at large to discuss as well as proffer possible solutions to the challenges faced by the African Continent coupled with its global integration.