Tinubu to Pate: Talk Less, Act More to Hasten Reforms in Health Sector

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has told the Minister of Health, Dr Ali Pate, to speak less about the challenges facing the health sector, but engage with development partners to evolve new reforms that would improve the health and well being of Nigerians.

The president who spoke when he had  audience with the minister at the State House, Abuja, specifically directed Pate to pursue a very ambitious sector-wide programme that would improve population health outcomes.

He told the minister to explore ways of working seamless with state governments and community leaders as well as traditional leaders to ensure that Nigerians get better quality services to deal with health issues.

He listed some of the health issues as malaria, immunisation, maternal and child health, reproductive health, among others.

Pate who met with the president alongside  a development partner with Susan-Buffett foundation, Prof Seniat Fisseha, assured that going forward, plans were on to design social action fund aimed at reaching communities.

He said government would work to get the trust of the community dwellers, through which they will be empowered and supported to solve issues that are very simple but afflicting many of the people at the grassroots level.

Speaking with newsmen after meeting with the President,  the minister  said: “While having an audience with the president, we discussed some important issues regarding the health and social well being of Nigerians.

“As we all know, the president is very committed and has directed that we do all that we can to improve the health and well being of all Nigerians as part of his renewed hope agenda.

“Accordingly, in recent days he has approved three important steps for us to move forward with that and has asked us to talk less and do more. And in that spirit he in fact, has asked us to pursue a very ambitious sector-wide programme to improve population health outcomes, using the basic healthcare provision fund as a basis for reviving our primary health care system.

“This would be done working with state governments and community leaders, traditional leaders to ensure that Nigerians get better quality services to deal with the issues that bother them, whether it’s malaria, whether it’s immunisation, maternal and child health or reproductive health.”

 According to him, there were also plans to unlock the value chain in the healthcare space, with the president approving an initiative presidential initiative to unlock the healthcare value chain that will help drive the medical industrialisation agenda with clear targets.