Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called for increased equity and capital in the health sector of the state to complement the efforts of the government.
Mr Sanwo-Olu disclosed this on Wednesday at the official launching of the new Iwosan Lagoon Specialist Hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Speaking at the event, he said, “We need to scale the health sector to capacity. Equity and capital need to go into the health sector. We will work with that private sector to make this available and affordable to citizens, especially those that are vulnerable.”
He lauded the management of the hospital, as it was aligning with the goals of his administration, adding that the private sector was playing a role to complement the public sector.
“We’ve travelled out and we have seen the models scale up,” he added.
According to the governor, it is working with the hospital to see how it can help boost some of its health initiatives including the Ilera Eko insurance scheme.
For residents, enrollment in the insurance scheme would guarantee access to quality and affordable healthcare as well as reduce out-of-pocket payments for medical bills.
With the domestication of the National Health Insurance Authority Act, every Nigerian must register on the Social Health Insurance Scheme in his or her state of residence, and according to the governor, more needs to be done in this aspect.
“As a government, we need to make sure health is affordable and accessible.”
Addressing the issue of health personnel and the brain drain of medical personnel, he disclosed that the state is going to build another specialised university dedicated solely to medicine.
“We are working with the National University Commission (NUC) and before we leave public office, Lagos will have another health university.
“We have set up an additional two science-related institutions. One in Ikorodu and another one in Epe. We believe that we can have 1,000 to 1,500 doctors produced in Lagos state alone every year.”
He added that his administration was empowering research and development and human capacity development and that some public hospitals, including the 100+-year-old Massey Hospital, are upgraded.
