Over four months after its establishment by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has on Thursday in Abuja inaugurated the Health Sector Reform Committee.
This is as he charged the committee members to deliver a modern, virile and people-centric healthcare system.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement he signed late Thursday titled ‘Modern, people-centric healthcare system, fundamental to President’s vision for Nigeria’s growth says Osinbajo’.
On September 7, 2021, the President approved the establishment of a Health Sector Reform Committee to kick-start the development and implementation of a Health Sector Reform Programme for Nigeria in collaboration with state governments and the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
The membership is drawn from the different arms of government, development partners, the traditional institution and Civil Society Organizations, among others.
Buhari’s decision followed a Health Sector Diagnostic Review Report developed by a consultant, Vesta Healthcare Partners and the Federal Ministry of Health.
As the Committee’s chairman, Osinbajo urged members on the importance of the task ahead, saying, “Mr President, has in several public statements made it clear that a modern, virile and people-centric healthcare system was fundamental to his vision for socio-economic growth.”
However, he noted that Nigeria’s health sector still bears some critical challenges that have resulted in sub-optimal outcomes compared with more developed jurisdictions of the world, a situation that makes the reform of the sector imperative.
Acknowledging these challenges, Osinbajo explained that the government’s primary responsibility is to “put in place the structures and arrangements necessary to boost the efficiency of the healthcare ecosystem, improve healthcare delivery, stem the brain-drain of our health personnel and reduce the pressure on our foreign reserves on account of medical tourism.”
He acknowledged several prior efforts to the setting up of the Committee to ensure that the reform process is hitch-free.
