President Muhammadu Buhari has promised that his administration would ensure that all Nigerians have access to affordable, efficient and equitable healthcare services without the risk of impoverishment.
President Buhari made the promise on Friday in Abuja while receiving report on ‘‘Funding Universal Healthcare Delivery in Nigeria’’ from the Senior Executive Course 41 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru.
The president, who directed relevant agencies of government to review the submission and ensure its integration into ongoing policies and programmes, recalled that in late 2018 he had approved the study theme for the 2019 Senior Executive Course because of his desire to address the challenges in the country’s health delivery system and improve the wellbeing of the citizens.
”Nigeria is signatory to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and is committed to achieving Universal Health Coverage aspirations by 2030.
”This government is unrelenting in its commitment to ensuring that all Nigerians have access to affordable, efficient, and equitable healthcare services without the risk of impoverishment.
”Your findings and recommendations are very innovative and useful. I, therefore, commend the Management, Staff and Participants of Senior Executive Course 41 for this report.
”I assure you that the Ministry of Health and all relevant agencies will be directed to review this submission and ensure its integration into our ongoing policies and programmes,” he said in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina.
The President also used the occasion to congratulate the Board, Management and Staff of the National Institute on its 40th anniversary.
He said the Institute had “credibly” discharged its responsibilities as the nation’s apex multi-disciplinary think-tank despite its funding challenges.
Buhari, who assured the Board, Management and Staff of NIPSS of his continuous support, said whatever challenges they had would be addressed properly.
Earlier in his remarks, the Director-General, NIPSS, Professor Habu Galadima, said in exploring the theme, the participants, during the ten-month period of the course, engaged in series of lectures and seminars, brainstorming sessions, as well as study tours, both domestic and international, with a view to obtaining clear perspectives on funding universal healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
