Posted on: Tue 05-12-2017

The Federal Ministry of Health has flagged off a special health intervention project which is meant to kick start distinct activities to strengthen health care delivery in Nigeria.

Speaking at a Press briefing in Abuja, the Honourable Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, said the projects are the product of consultations with Stakeholders in the health sector that saw the need to scale up and smoothen operations in healthcare facilities across the country.

In view of this, the Minister said the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) designed a Tertiary health Institution Intervention project as a means to address some of the critical challenges facing the health sector as enshrined in the ACT establishing the scheme.

“…one of the core objectives of the NHIS is to ensure the availability of fund to the health sector for improved services. Besides this, the scheme is to ensure equitable patronage at all levels of health care facilities within the federation. This project is therefore consistent with the statutory mandate of the scheme” the Minister underlined.

Professor Adewole highlighted the core objectives of the intervention project to include: to strengthen and reposition tertiary health institutions for better performance, to make the facilities self-sustainable and attractive to large number of patients they cater for; to strengthen their research capabilities; to reduce medical tourism arising from obsolete equipment and infrastructures and ultimately to facilitate the attainment of universal Health coverage (UHC) in Nigeria.

Adewole also listed the federal Teaching Hospitals, Medical Centres and Specialist Hospitals across the six geopolitical zones to benefit from the intervention to as follows:

• 21 Federal Teaching Hospitals
• 31 Federal Medical Centres
• 4 Specialist Hospitals
• 14 Fistula and Cleft lip/palate Centres.

Under the project, the Minister explained that each of the federal teaching hospital would receive three hundred million Naira (300,000,000.00), while the specialist hospitals would receive Two hundred million Naira (200,000,000.00)each.

The federal medical centres would receive One hundred and twenty million Naira (120,000,000.00) while the Fistula Centres would receive Fifty Million Naira (50,000,000.00) each.

Each benefiting Institution would sign a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with NHIS and the FMOH. The MOU would spell out the operational modalities of the project. In addition, the institutions would produce a performance Bond in respect of the fund to be disbursed to them from NHIS Accredited Bank/ Insurance Companies. This is to ensure the security and appropriateness in the application of the grants, Adewole Stressed.

He further appealed to benefitting health institutions to ensure success of the project. He also called on State governments to extend their hand of fellowship to frontline workers as the interventions were not about politics but about the wellbeing of  Nigerians irrespective of location and political affiliation.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Permanent secretary, FMOH, Mr. Clement Uwaifo, described the intervention as a very ambitious project which would further boost the  effort of the FG in healthcare service delivery.

In his remark, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Dr. Lanre Tejuosho, said that the project would make positive change in the health sector adding that the leadership of the National assembly was in full support of it.

He also hinted that National Assembly was working hard to ensure the 1% consolidated fund in the 2018 budget when released would  further strengthen healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

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