The Federal Government, yesterday, approved a whooping N6.071 trillion for the funding of the National Health Strategic Plan 2.
The new comprehensive health plan, which covers the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is designed for implementation between 2018 and 2022.
This is coming same day the government unveiled plans to eradicate cholera from Nigeria within five years. Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents after yesterday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Adewole explained that 38.2 per cent of the total amount will be expended on human resources, 34 per cent for medicines, commodities and supplies while seven per cent will be for infrastructure development in the health sector. He noted that the previous plan, which lasted from 2010 to 2015, achieved less than two of its 52 targets. “It took us about two years to get this second plan done. It involves all states of the federation.
It includes the FCT and our development partners participated in the presentation and the approval of the plan. “The plan was approved at the National Council on Health meeting that took place in Kano on June 21, 2018. The plan essentially has five strategic pillars and 15 priority areas.
“The five strategic pillars include: enabling environment for our attainment of health sector good, increased utilisation of essential package of healthcare services, strengthening our health system, and protection from health emergencies, as well as health financing.
“In total, this new plan has 15 thematic areas, 48 strategic objectives and 282 interventions that will help us to really improve the healthcare delivery that will offer our people. “What is important is the stakeholders and strong health sector wide participation of states in the presentation.
We went through a five-stage process. The states went to develop their plans. The federal developed ours. “We came together, harmonised all the plans and we brought everybody together to validate and adopt the plan and then moved on to Kano for implementation.
“The entire projects, meant for over five years, will cost us over N6.071 trillion and we believe that if this funding is done, if the plans are implemented faithfully, we will achieve a 31 per cent reduction in maternal mortality. “We will achieve 33 per cent reduction in horizontal mortality and we will achieve under five per cent mortality reduction of 29 per cent. “We are quite confident that this plan will usher Nigeria into a new era, and council in its wisdom, approved this plan.
So, the next thing now, will be to ask the states to commence implementation,” he said. Adewole also disclosed that the government was working on a plan to eradicate cholera from Nigeria in the next five years.
Minister of State for Works, Power and Housing, Mustapha Shehuri, who also briefed journalists, said that Council also approved N5 billion for 14 kilometres road construction in Akwa Ibom State, while N1.097 billion was approved for argumentation of the N28 billion Abuja- Abaji-Lokoja road section
