The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the health sector and allocate significant votes to it in the 2024 budget estimates.The motion was titled, “Need for the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency to collaborate with relevant health agencies in states and local governments to ensure the functionality of Primary Healthcare Centres.
He said it was estimated that Nigeria has about 39,983 hospitals and clinics as of 2020, with the primary healthcare centres accounting for about 34,000, which is 86 percent. He said the lack of medical equipment, drugs, qualified personnel, electrical systems, beds, and road networks had increased the death toll in healthcare centers.
He said the Federal and State Health Ministries’ inaccurate representation of primary healthcare centres hindered proper budgeting and access to quality healthcare in rural areas.The House, in its resolution, urged the Federal Ministry of Health to encourage states to resuscitate the comatose primary healthcare programmes at the grassroots level.