Experts Call for Sustainable Healthcare System in West Africa

Rebecca Ejifoma

Healthcare leaders across Africa have called for improvement in government regulations, financing, leadership and management strategies in Africa’s healthcare sectors for the development of a sustainable system in West Africa.

These issues were brought to the fore at the Leaders in Healthcare/Medic West Africa Exhibition and Conferences in Lagos recently, tagged: ‘Laying the foundation for the provision of primary healthcare in West Africa’.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Dr. Ibrahim Yahya Oloriegbe hinted on government policies as essential to accommodating sustainable healthcare goals in Nigeria.

He said: “Health in Nigeria is ranked at 11 in terms of capital expenditure. It remains a key focus area for the national budget.”

Speaking also, the Deputy Minister of Health, Ghana, Dr. Alex Kodwo Kom Abban highlighted the value of the private sector in establishing a healthcare system that is advanced and sustainable.

He said: “The healthcare challenges in Nigeria are not different from the ones in Ghana. Proper collaborations with the private sector from concept to realisation in decision-making within the sector are extremely vital.”

Abban said the private sector should not be seen as competitors, but rather as collaborators who will contribute their quota towards achieving universal health coverage by 2030.

Medic West Africa is supported by numerous trade associations and government agencies. They are: Nigeria Federal Ministry of Health, Healthcare Federation of Nigeria and the Society for Quality in Healthcare in Nigeria.