By Lizzy Carr, Bauchi
The 2021 World Health Day was marked with renewed commitment, pledges and calls by stakeholders for a better health for all.
On the same page during the commemoration, the Network for Reproductive Health Journalists of Nigeria, NRHJN, called on all tiers of government to immediately repackage and re-energise the moribund National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, to be more realistic, robust and reliable with sustainable ability to deliver “fairer” healthcare to all Nigerians.
To lend its voice to the struggle for better healthcare services, NRHJN request the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to institute access to the Basic Healthcare Fund for the provision of minimum access in primary healthcare for all, especially, mothers and children for comprehensive sexual reproductive healthcare delivery.
To achieve “a fairer and healthier nation”, we ask the federal and state governments to ensure that care in Nigeria must be patient-centred with equitable fairplay assured to all stakeholders in the healthcare sector. This would set the nation on the path towards Universal Health Coverage, UHC, to attain a sustainable health system.
As advocates of equity and rights on issues of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), the Network is deeply concerned about the rising incidents of insecurity in the land, occasioned by abductions, kidnappings and sexual assaults on men, women and children of all ages, ethnic tribes, faith and creed.
We are worried that the reproductive health concerns of women of all ages is greatly compromised by the high level of insecurity in the country; resulting in violent and multiple rape cases of abductees and which are almost becoming a culture with high impunity.
The scaring situation is also compounding the near nonexistent or limited choices for safe medical engagement in situations of unwanted pregnancy resulting from rape, sexual assaults and various forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) our kidnapped women girls suffer.
Nigerian women are presently living in “unfair and unhealthy environment”.
We are constrained to point out that government must take control of the situation if indeed there is to be expectation of “fairer and healthier” Nigerian nation for all.
The dream of a fairer and heathier Nigerian nation cannot be realized if the means of livelihood for most of our rural folks, particularly women is truncated at will.
As long as there is lack of sustainable agriculture/farming process, there will be hunger and poverty in the land.
As long as education or accessible and sustainable healthcare delivery cannot be guaranteed for the girl-child, coupled with incessant insecurity, banditry and strikes in the education and health sectors, the future will remain bleak.
With this year’s theme “Build a Fairer and Healthier World”, the Network charges the Nigerian government at all levels to prioritise and reorientate its policies in the interest of the average Nigerian.
Government should sit up and re-commit to work towards actualising the UHC where everyone will have access to equitable and qualitative healthcare services, thus preventing the growing cases of preventable and treatable diseases, including non-communicable diseases.
The Network asks for a sustainable solution to incessant strikes by social workers across, health, education and others for a more profitable country.
We demand President Muhammadu Buhari and others in position of leadership to bequeath an equitable healthcare where everyone could access quality care via accessible, affordable and available. There should be no conditions attached to any Nigerian having access to comprehensive and sustainable healthcare delivery anywhere and at anywhere in the country.
Carr is the publicity secretary of NRHJN
