The minister of Health and Social Welfare, Mohammed Ali Pate says Nigeria is working hard to address all funding and policies gaps, in order to tackle the challenges in the nation’s healthcare system especially in the face of the cut in funding by the United States.
He stated this while speaking at an interactive session with the House of Representives Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in Abuja.
Pate told the Lawmakers that, although the US decision was sudden, its impact was less because of the various measures earlier put in place by the Federal government through policies and interventions.
He said, “So the changes that have occurred in the landscape which brought to this conversation, particularly the adjustment in U.S. policy, certainly is a major shift in U.S. government policy. When we looked at it from our side, we understood that in fact, it’s an opportunity for research.”
The Minister appreciated the contributions of the U.S. government and its people, noting that it is now the responsibility of government to provide for the country by putting more money in the Health Sector.
“So coming to the issues of HIV and Tuberculosis in Nigeria, for 20, 25 years, external parties have largely funded HIV, TB, and malaria in Nigeria.And we appreciate those contributions that they have made because they save lives.
“We have multiple approach for HIV, for Malaria, for group reproductive health for Tuberculosis, for Nutrition and Public Health Care agencies so, U.S. government support was mostly heavily on HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis programs”.
In his address earlier, Chairman of the Committee, Amobi Ogah said, the committee is meeting with the minister in order to be on the same page with his ministry and to ensure that programs and projects relating to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria are implemented seamlessly without bottlenecks because of their critical importance in saving the lives of Nigerians.
Ogah had earlier Advocated for the creation of a Healthcare Sector Trust Fund, to take care of eventualities and gaps in funding .
