The Minister Coordinating Health and Social Welfare, Professor Mohammed Ali Patate, said that the Federal Government's tax reform will increase health funds as the recent tax bill signed by the President aims to increase government income, which in turn will finance basic services such as medical care and education.
Pate, while talking at the end of the eleventh meeting of the Ministerial Supervision Committee on Monday in Abuja, also revealed that the Federal Government has assigned substantial resources to the health sector in the 2025 budget, including funds to provide essential medicines for those who positive for various diseases.
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“The federal government has put resources in the 2025 budget, and the acquisition is on the way to providing these medications to meet the additional needs that arise from the highest evidence.”
He pointed out the importance of a collaborative approach between the federal government, the states and local governments in the reconstruction of the Nigerian health system.
“We see that the federal government, the states and local governments are very integral partners in this effort we are making. No level can do it alone.”
Pate also explained that the tax reform is crucial to reduce the dependence on external financing. “When he creates a simplified tax invoice, government income is increasing, and that is that government income will finance problems such as health, such as education and other things.”
“If we can collect more of the expired resources, then the governments of all levels will have the resources to be able to invest in health,” he said.
Speaking above, the Minister of Health, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said that progress is being made in the reforms of the Nigeria health sector, particularly in the implementation of the Basic Health Provision Fund (BHCPF).
According to Salako, the participation of the Ministerial Supervision Committee in the reforms reflects the level of inclusion and transparency used by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
“The Military Supervision Committee reflects the level of inclusion and transparency that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is using in the implementation of the Basic Fund for Health Provisions.
Salako also pointed out that this approach is promoting greater participation at the subnational level, civil society organizations and synergy among government agencies.
“It is promoting a greater participation of civil society organizations and also shows a certain level of synergy among the various government agencies that are involved,” he said.
The minister argued that the impact of the presidential directive to unlock the value chain of medical care, saying that it feels and informed. “You can also see that from that meeting you feel the impact of the presidential order around the unlocking of the medical care value chain, it is informed and feels,” he said.
Dr. Salako said that the revitalization of primary health care is a key agenda of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, and results are being observed. “We also see the results and, therefore, these are key messages that come out of this embassy,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state commissioner of the State of Ekiti, Dr. Oyebanji Filani, who is also president of the Health Commissioners forum, praised the efforts of the federal government and other interested parties to improve the health sector.
Philani said that the recent meeting of health commissioners has yielded positive results, with an approach to ensure that 8,000 facilities throughout the country provide quality services and products to people.
“We have discussed more than 6 months, and the objective is very simple, it is to ensure that so many facilities … can provide access, make sure that people have access to quality services and provide the necessary goods,” he said.
Filani said that the mass renewal work is ongoing throughout the country, with many renewed primary health centers. “If you move through Nigeria, we can see that the main medical care centers in Nigeria are renewal sites, because many resources will be renewed,” he said.
The commissioner also highlighted the importance of equipping medical care facilities and training health workers to provide quality services.
“Beyond that, we have teams in these facilities and take it to a level that guarantees that we will provide services. There has been a lot of training to relief health workers and make sure they can respond to the needs as of today,” he said.
Dr. Filani emphasized that the ultimate goal is to ensure that more people have access to good quality health services and become healthier and more productive in the economy.
“So, what that means in this regard is that more people have access to good quality services and, in turn, it means that they can be healthier and that they obviously become productive in the economy,” he said.