As Nigerians await the implementation of the 2017 budget, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has said the Ministry would be transparent with its figures even especially as the health sector needs more money. Adewole, in a report maintained that the Ministry of Health would continue to comply with the provisions of the public procurement act to ensure proper implementation of the budget. Professor Isaac Adewole Transparency: “We would be transparent with our figures. We won’t hide it. When they brought the proposals for 2017, I did photocopy and gave to all the directors. I also insisted that the Director of Procurement must not advertise without getting the quotation from the director or head of unit. Because it’s the head of unit who is the technical person who knows about what you want to procure, they must contact them and our budget will be on the website.”
Reacting on whether Nigeria was committed to 15 per cent of annual budget to improve the health sector with a 2017 budget proposal of N303.9 billion, Adewole who assured of proper implementation of the budget said although Nigeria needs more money in health, the sector is not completely helpless. “The Global Fund will spend about $1 billion over four years in Nigeria; that has not been captured. PEPFAR is working in some States, 32 local government areas on HIV, it has not been captured. DFID is supporting 950 PHCs in the North, to revitalise them, it’s not been captured. EU will rehabilitate 774 PHCs in 3 states in 2017. So when you look at health, health is not an orphan. I want more money in health, I am not going to deceive you, but it is not that we are completely helpless. My strategy is that whatever we have, let’s use it well and ask for more.”
He explained that what Nigeria needed was to look at the health sector and quantify money going into it in terms of how much are the states putting there, how much the country is getting from donors, as well as outside funding. World Bank loan “In 2016, we had a World Bank loan of $500 million, that is about N140 billion going into Health. It is a loan from the World Bank, Nigeria will repay but we give it free to the states as grant to improve Primary Healthcare; improve maternal health, improve child health, improve nutrition, improve immunisation, improve family planning, and take care of HIV. “Further, He further pointed out that in 2017; health recorded the single largest increase in allocation for capital. “We have 79 per cent increase from 28 to 51 and we are assured that it will keep on increasing. When I discussed with the Minister of Budget, I tried to liken it to Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC. UBEC is out of Education because UBEC is like National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, so maybe the solution is to take NPHCDA out of health so that people know that it is separate,” he added. Continuing, the Minister added that states like Bauchi is spending 16 per cent of their budget on health, adding that there are oasis of success and hope across the country. “We will get there, I think part of the challenge in this administration, before now, we spent over 90 per cent of our budget on salaries. 2016 represents the first time Government is saying even if we are to borrow, let’s put money on infrastructure,” he said.
Credit: vanguardngr.com