In 2016, ONE, along with its partners and members, came together and declared that the Nigerian government cannot continue to underinvest in the health sector. With 2,000 Nigerian children and 158 women dying every day from preventable and treatable causes this kind of uninvestment is unacceptable.
These facts led ONE and its partners to launch the #MakeNaijaStronger campaign on World Health Day 2016. The campaign called on the Nigerian government to honour the Abuja Declaration – an act that would allocate 15% of the annual budget to health and implement the 1% Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) towards the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) as provided for in the National Health Act of 2014.
Over the past 17 months, ONE members and champions in Nigeria have taken actions by signing our #MakeNaijaStronger petition and encouraging other citizens to do the same or lobbying policy makers to ensure the government honours these commitments in the 2017 budget.
After the signing of the 2017 Appropriation Act which allowed for the budget to be implemented on the 12th of June, 2017, the Nigerian Health Sector Reform Coalition, a non-partisan group of civil society organizations (CSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are concerned with the health sector in Nigeria, conducted an analysis of the Federal Government’s resource allocation to the entire health sector – including the Federal Ministry of Health (FmoH).
The outcome of the analysis shows that the entire health sector allocation increased from N353 billion in 2016 to N380 billion in 2017. This N380 billion is about 5.1% of the 2017 National Budget and it includes the allocation to the FMoH at N308 billion and allocations to departments outside the FMoH such as the State House Medical Center, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) payment for staff not made by the FMoH, as well as other health related allocations.
However, considering the inflationary pressure on the economy, the purchasing power of the Naira, the scale of the health needs and the sustained growth of the Nigerian population, this increase pales in comparison to the need of the Nigerian people.
Therefore, based on the outcome of the analysis, it is clear that a lot is still needed to revitalize Nigeria’s health sector. This has prompted the coalition to write an open letter – to the President asking that he make a quantum leap investment into the health sector in the 2018 budget to at least 7.5% of the national budget and demonstrate good faith in implementing the 1% Consolidated Revenue Fund towards the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), as stipulated by the National Health Act 2014.
The federal government and state governments need to invest more in health. Health is the foundation of our national security, economic growth and recovery plan. An investment in health not only boosts the economy but is also a critical determinant of the quality of the workforce. When countries invest $1 in immunizations, they stand to gain between $16 to $44 in economic returns.
We need your help to remind President Buhari that Nigeria’s basic immunization coverage is the eighth worst in the world (link to UNICEF stat/report)!
Remind him that women and children are dying of preventable disease!
Tell President Buhari that, right now, millions of Nigerians die helplessly because of the fragile state of healthcare in Nigeria!
If you want to show your support for the urgent need to address the health crisis in Nigeria, follow this link.
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