The Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP) says transparency and active collaboration must be upheld for the Federal Government to achieve its plans of reducing maternal mortality.
Its national president, Dr Kayode Adesola, said this in an interview on Sunday in Lagos, following the Federal Government’s plan to provide free cesarean section for pregnant women across the country.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, on Thursday, said the move was part of the government’s efforts to tackle Nigeria’s maternal and neonatal mortality rates, which rank among the highest globally.
Pate explained that the government would ensure that no woman in need was denied critical care due to cost by removing financial barriers to life-saving procedures, through the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII).
Commending the government’s plans, Adesola however, pointed out that its success would depend on providing a level-play ground for all stakeholders.
“Though we were never involved at the planning stage, if the Minister accepts our collaboration which must carry variables for the optimal quality care delivery to the targeted citizens, we shall provide a solid widespread network of collaboration.
‘If you want to conduct an initiative that will touch the lives of people across the country, you must actively involve professionals whose health facilities are spread across the nooks and crannies of the country.
“For reasons best known to most government officials, only lip service is consistently paid to the integration of the private practitioners into the Nigerian health sector.
“This is an occurrence that has remained recurrent from administration to administration.
“If this initiative is truly in the interest of the masses, then the government should explore as many professionals and stakeholders as possible.
“Also, some of these women’s lives are in the hands of traditional birth attendants who cannot attend to them properly. Some of them just deliver and bleed to death, while some have ruptured uterus,” he said.
Adesola added that equitability was another major factor that would make the initiative successful.
“A situation whereby the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) continues to offer fees of 2012 in 2024, knowing fully well that this is grossly inadequate to provide quality healthcare.
“Yet, it continues to cajole health providers to keep the flag flying, which is simply a misnomer.
“Most of these initiatives are not entirely new, but they have often failed because of the insincerity on the part of those in government championing it,” he said.
Adesola noted that the capitation pricing of health insurance should reflect the current economic reality to enhance access to quality healthcare for Nigerians.
ANPMP is the umbrella organisation for all medical and dental doctors in private practice, either as owners or employees.
NAN
