Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, has disclosed that a new health reform bill to reposition the country’s health sector for improved delivery of set objectives would be in the works soon.
Speaking at the closing of the two-day Presidential Health Reform Committee Retreat in Abuja, he noted that this is pending a full committee report review and a complete policy document appraisal.
“The next steps now are to finalize subcommittee reports for the review of the full committee and produce a full committee report to guide the drafting of the policy document. And then draft a health reform Bill,” Mr Osinbajo stated.
The Vice President then thanked the committee members for their hard work and dedication and reaffirmed the Buhari Administration’s commitment to ensuring that the reform objectives are achieved.
The Vice President emphasized that the federal government’s ongoing efforts to reposition Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system must include collaboration among different levels of government and the private sector to ensure the effective implementation of reforms that will cater to the needs of Nigerians in the 21st century.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had in September 2021, approved the establishment of a Health Sector Reform Committee and appointed the Vice President as Chair of the team, which was officially inaugurated by the VP in January 2022.
The Health Minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire, also a member of the panel, was in attendance at the retreat and also Senator Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health.
Other members of the committee present at the 2-day retreat included the Emir of Shonga, Haliru Yahaya; DG, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Alex Okoh; DG, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Mr Tunde Irukera; DG, Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Ifedayo Adetifa; Former Coordinator, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu; Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Professor Akin Abayomi; and Lead Coordinator, Presidential Health Reform Committee, Dr Nicholas Audifferen.
