The All Progressives Congress, APC Presidential Candidate, Senator Bola Tinubu has promised a radical transformation of the health sector in the country if elected President.
Senator Tinubu made the assertion at a Symposium in Abuja organised by the Healthcare Transformation Coalition, a group of healthcare professionals.
The Symposium was therefore an agenda setting for the next administration to address challenges bedeviling the health sector.
This also based on the fact that indicators of coverage of basic health services show that there is a huge deficit in the required health care service delivery in the country.
With an estimated 40% of Nigerians living in poverty and social condition that creat ill health as well as out of pocket expenses, it is imperative to initiate reforms that will change the narrative.
The All Progressives Congress APC Presidential Candidate Senator Bola Tinubu, represented by the Senate Chief Whip, Aliyu Sabi-Abdullahi, said there would be a functional healthcare delivery system in Nigeria given the opportunity to serve.
Senator Sabi Abdullahi expressed confidence that with the capacity demonstrated by Senator Tinubu in Lagos State, issues of financing, human capacity building, infrastructure and other policies slowing effective health care delivery would be addressed.
As a practical step towards finding lasting solutions to this age long problem and more, the Healthcare Transformation Coalition, organised the symposium as an agenda setting for the next administration.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said despite the challenges with the health sector, the Federal Government had recorded huge successes in the sector by introducing many initiatives such as the emergency health care provision.
The Convener of the Coalition and former Commissioner of Health in Lagos State, Dr Jide Idris, in a presentation, highlighted the ingenuity of the All Progressives Congress APC Presidential Candidate Senator Bola Tinubu’s initiative which changed the story of porous healthcare services in Lagos state.
Dr Idris said having worked closely with Senator Bola Tinubu as Commissioner for Health when he was governor of Lagos state, stressed the need for the implementation of the health care infrastructure and services of the former Lagos state governor at the Federal level as a sustainable solution.
The Director, Medical, Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Ikechukwu Odikpo while appreciating the organizers for the foresight, said the priority given to the health sector in Senator Tinubu’s manifesto was an indication of the placement of premium on health care delivery.
A former commissioner of Health in Borno state, Dr Salma Ibrahim, said the health sector in the country would experience a radical transformation with a repeat of the policies of Senator Kashim Shettima at the Federal level.
Other contributors expressed confidence that with the combination of Tinubu and Shettima, their experience in implementing health reforms would address the deficiencies that had derailed effective health care delivery in the country for decades.
