Nigerian govt pledges to improve quality of healthcare

On Monday, the Nigerian government said it had conducted an independent assessment of tertiary hospitals to improve the quality of healthcare services in the country.

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The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, made this known while speaking on the Sunrise Daily programme on Channels Television.

Mr Pate noted that the National Tertiary Hospitals Standards Committee conducted the assessment in 20 tertiary hospitals.

“We are beginning to focus on the quality of care in our facilities. As we speak, there’s an independent assessment that has been conducted in 20 of them to look at the quality of care that we offer to our patients,” he said.

He explained that the findings from the committee have been submitted and will serve as the basis for developing scorecards to measure the performance of teaching hospitals.

Mr Pate emphasised that the scorecards will not be used to criticise the hospitals but to identify areas requiring improvement.

Improving healthcare affordability

Mr Pate said the government is also working to make healthcare more affordable for Nigerians.

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According to him, the government conducted a survey which indicates that healthcare affordability is a significant challenge in the country, with many struggling to afford healthcare costs.

To address this issue, he said the focus is on transforming Nigeria’s healthcare system by reforming the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), expanding health insurance coverage, and providing financial protection to vulnerable populations.

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This includes offering subsidised premiums to those who need it most, as well as implementing relief measures to make essential drugs more affordable.

Mr Pate further stated that the government is investing in upgrading the Comprehensive Emergency of Obstetrics and Newborn Care Centres (CEmONC) to reduce maternal mortality.

“For maternal mortality, the CEmONGC for instance, 774 of them, we’re investing, intervening, to upgrade them as part of what we call the MAMI Initiative, so that we can crush maternal mortality,” he said.

He said the government’s effort to improve healthcare in Nigeria is a significant step towards achieving the vision of a prosperous country anchored around its people.