A former Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Dr Olajide Idris, has said private sector involvement in the health sector would help to tackle the challenges facing the sector. Speaking during an event organised by the KB Club, College of Medicine, University of Lagos last Saturday to mark the 50th anniversary of the club, Idris said government could not afford to fund the health sector alone.

 

He lamented that the challengess facing the health sector had persisted because the task of providing funding for the sector was left for government alone. Idris called for community empowerment, which would lay emphasis on the environmental, political and social factors in public health.

 

“Factors affecting Nigerian health management performance are inadequate health care providers, poor management of resources, poor motivation and remuneration, unsustainable health care financing, policy reversal, among others.

 

“It will take the philanthropic gesture of relevant stakeholders in the private and public sector to complement what the government is doing in the health sector,” Idris said. A former president of the club, Prof Oladapo Ashiru, said members of the club had stepped up to ensure that some of the challenges in the health sector were addressed.

 

“The KB club has become a brand within the medical school, with a focus on philanthropy, academy and social intervention. We have made substantial impact in the last 50 years of the existence of the club. The club is also providing a training ground, a mentoring avenue for medical students,” Ashiru said.