The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to prioritize health funding to aid the country’s preparedness and prevention in the fight against disease outbreaks. The organization’s country representative, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, gave the FG this charge at the third edition of Nigeria Health Watch Prevent Epidemics Journalism Awards in Abuja. He said that every country needs to find, prevent or stop epidemics. He added that Nigeria accounts for 50 percent of tropical diseases in Africa and contributes 27 percent of global cases of malaria and 24 percent of deaths.
There is a category of contagious illnesses which are known as neglected tropical diseases. They are common in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. They also have gotten little (or no) attention in terms of prevention and control for many years, hence, why they are categorized as neglected. These diseases are identified and controlled under the guidance of WHO and mostly affect women and children in poor communities. These people live in overcrowded houses in rural areas and have inadequate access to basic amenities like bathrooms and clean water.
Recent pandemic and other emerging diseases have revealed gaps in preparedness.
Dr. Mulombo said that non-communicable diseases account for 29 percent of deaths in Nigeria. He acknowledged that the prevalence of malaria is declining (from 42 percent to 23 percent), but the country still contributes a significant number of cases and deaths from the disease. The WHO representative also added that premature mortality from the four main NCDs (hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and malnutrition) account for 22 percent of all non-communicable deaths in Nigeria. He commended the organizers for facilitating a strong collaboration with the media through the “Prevent Epidemics” project to raise public and policymaker awareness, demand for epidemic preparedness, and build understanding and support among policymakers for dedicated epidemic preparedness funding.
Continuing on, he said that the recent COVID-19 pandemic and other emerging diseases, such as Lassa Fever and cholera, have revealed the gaps in the epidemic preparedness of many countries, including Nigeria. Many Nigerians would argue that the Federal Government adopted a trial-and-error mode of response to the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. He said that if this unpreparedness is unchecked, it can result in terrible danger for the country. “Nigeria needs a pivot to prevention in the fight against diseases by addressing the root causes,” he said.
Poor health funding makes us susceptible to outbreaks.
Ms. Vivianne Ihekweazu, the managing director of Nigeria Health Watch, said in her welcome address at the event that poor health funding makes us all vulnerable to disease outbreaks. She said that health security should not be seen as the responsibility of the Federal Government alone. The state and local governments should also fund such initiatives. Therefore, she called on Nigerians to hold politicians accountable in the spirit of electioneering campaigns in order to improve public health.
The Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa lauded the critical role the media plays in tackling epidemics. Also, the Nigeria Coordinator, Prevent Epidemics Dr. Emmanuel Alhassan, said the 2023 budget witnessed a dip in allocation to the health sector. Over a trillion naira was allocated to the health sector in the 2023 budget. The budget shows a substantial increase from the N826.9 billion allocated to the sector in 2022 and the N547 billion allocated in 2021.
Funding is needed for mass administration of drugs for prevention and control.
Despite the increase in the allocation, only 5.75 percent of the budget is allocated to the health sector. Hence, the country has refused to meet the commitment made by African leaders in the Abuja Declaration to allocate at least 15 percent of their annual budget to the health sector. In order to prevent and control these tropical diseases, drugs must be administered in large quantities. Substantial funding as well as human resources are needed for this.
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WHO urges FG to fund Nigeria’s healthcare – Nigeria accounts for 50% of neglected tropical diseases in Africa. – Express your point of view.
As reported, the health security should not be seen as the responsibility of the Federal Government alone. The state and local governments should also fund such initiatives by supporting and prioritizing health funding to aid the country’s preparedness and prevention in the fight against disease outbreaks. It is will be to our own advantage as a country.
We don’t need until before the World bank tells us, before we know that we need to fund the health sector. Nigeria really needs to start working in health wise.
WHO urges FG to fund Nigeria’s healthcare. Nigeria government has refuse to take up their responsibilities as a government. This APC government no care for Nigeria health
Financing for health care should be given top priority by the Federal Government of Nigeria in order to assist the nation’s efforts to be prepared for and avoid disease outbreaks.
In Africa, Nigeria is responsible for fifty percent of tropical diseases, and the country is also responsible for twenty-seven percent of the world’s cases of malaria and twenty-four percent of its deaths.
People in rural areas often live in homes that are too small for their number of inhabitants and lack proper access to basic amenities such as restrooms and clean water.
This is mainly true government should allocate a large portion of its budget toward health care in order to better protect the country against infectious disease.
They have also received very little attention in terms of prevention and control for a great number of years, which is another reason why they are considered to be ignored.
The organizers for their work in fostering a strong engagement with the media as part of the Prevent Epidemics project, with the goal of increasing public and policymaker awareness,
Large quantities of medication must be given to patients, and in order to accomplish this goal, substantial financial and human resources are required.
Our government should listen to the WHO and fund our healthcare. The healthcare is a important sector that we need to take care of in other to be preparing for prevent and cure of disease that might be fighting us
If nothing is done to rectify the situation, this state of unpreparedness poses a grave threat to the nation.
Nigeria government need to put more commitment to the health sector of the country,the budget which government normally put into health sector in too small to improve the sector and the sector suppose to be one of the priority for any sincere government.
The Federal Government of Nigeria should prioritize funding for health care in order to support the country’s efforts to prepare for and prevent disease epidemics.
This is largely accurate; the government should invest heavily in healthcare to safeguard the nation from the spread of disease.
The World Health Organization recommends that our nation provide healthcare funding, and the government should heed this recommendation. The healthcare industry is crucial, and we must invest in it so that we are ready to prevent and treat any diseases that may threaten us.
The fact that they have been given so little focus for so many years in terms of prevention and control further contributes to the perception that they are being disregarded.
The federal government should not be viewed as having sole responsibility for health security. Such initiatives should also be funded by the state and local governments.
Our government are never ready to combat tropical diseases that is affecting us. We are only surviving by the grace of God.
The health sector of this country is an area that is largely neglected by the government. I hope they will listen to WHO and do the right thing.