The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has urged all tiers of Government to sincerely carry out the planned reform of the healthcare sector. Association President Dr Nnamdi Ezuma made the appeal at a scientific conference on Wednesday in Abuja.
Ezuma urged the Federal Government to do the needful about the reform for the benefit of ordinary Nigerians, pointing out that things were still not working in the sector. He also urged the Government to revive the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), noting that millions of Nigerians have yet to access the scheme
He urged that public-private partnership should drive the sector. Ezuma implored the Government to look inwards. especially to solve some of the challenges facing the health sector, such as the poor remuneration of medical personnel.
He also urged the FCT Administration to look into the demands of the association and other healthcare providers, such as the irregularity in the payment of salaries through the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
Other issues, he listed, were the need to enhance the medical residency training fund and payment of promotion arrears to medical personnel. Ezuma said if these were done they would go a long way in maintaining the industrial harmony enjoyed in the sector over the years.
Dr Ahmed Danfulani, the Director of Programme, FCT NHIS, noted that the challenges in the health sector were multi-sectoral, noting that everybody, including the government and the people contributed to the challenges.
According to him, one of the biggest challenges confronting the health sector is the issue of low budget, which, he said, needed to be enhanced to make things work.
“Without funding, so many things cannot be done, that is one of the greatest challenges today in the health sector; there must be a think tank to look at all these things. The think tank must involve the private and public sectors, as well as the stakeholders in the healthcare service in designing a roadmap to solve the challenges,” he said.
Danfulani thanked the Federal Government for making available the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), noting that most states have already keyed into it.
He also called on stakeholders to come to the rescue of the healthcare sector, so that the less privileged could access the NHIS.