Nasarawa State House of Assembly has reiterated its readiness to partner with health agencies in order to tackle quackery in the sector in the state.
The Chairman, House Committee on Health, Mr Larry Ven-Bawa stated this when management of the Ministry of Health appeared before the committee for their 2025 budget assessment for the first quarter on Wednesday in Lafia.
He said that the activities of quacks have affected the lives of the people negatively in the state.
Ven- Bawa urged the Ministry of Health to expedite action on the process of ceding of Dalhatu Araf Specialists Hospital (DASH) Lafia structures to the Federal Government for use as Federal University Teaching Hospital.
The committee also directed for immediate relocation of DASH to Akwanga Local Government Area for full operation.
“We are calling on the Ministry of Health to be more serious in the process of ceding the hospital to the Federal Government,” he said.
He urged the ministry to establish more tertiary and secondary facilities across Senatorial zones in the state.
“These will ease the challenges of people accessing medical attention,” he added.
“There should be more secondary and tertiary facilities in the state to carter for the need of people having health challenges,” he added.
He commended the ministry’s efforts to fish out quack doctors and other practitioners as well as illegal health facilities in the state.
The lawmaker commended Gov. Abdullahi Sule for his passion and interest in the health sector, while urging him to do more.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Gaza Gwamna, said that the ministry was working hard towards ensuring a successful ceding of DASH facilities to the federal government.
Gwamna informed the committee that the ministry was also working to identify quack doctors and illegal health facilities in the state with the view to get rid of them.
Also appearing before the committee was the management of Nasarawa State Health Insurance Scheme (NASHIA), led by the Executive Director, Dr. Yahaya Bawa and management of Nasarawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (NAPHCDA) led by Dr. Usman Iskilu
The committees commended the agencies for the good work and promised to give them all the necessary support to succeed in their responsibilities of ensuring quality health care services.
In their responses, Bawa and Iskilu both appreciated the support of the committee and pledged to continue to prioritise the health needs of the people.
NAN
