BusinessDay 06 April 2018

20 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556
Friday 06 April 2018
Friday 06 April 2018
C002D5556
BUSINESS DAY
21
World Health Day 2018: Universal health
coverage for Nigeria still a mirage
ANTHONIA OBOKOH
Ahead of the World
Health Day on April
7, health experts say
accountability, financial
and political
issues are threats to effective
application of Nigeria’s Universal
Health Coverage, a scheme
targeted at providing full and
equal access to healthcare to
people and communities in various
parts of the country.
The World Health Organisation
(WHO) ranked Nigeria
187 out of 191 countries in its
ranking of the world’s health
systems, this shows Nigeria has
a lot to do in improving its health
system and making healthcare
affordable and accessible to the
millions of its citizens.
Experts are calling attention
on the need to address the country’s
goal of achieving universal
health coverage as part of efforts
to mark the 2018 World Health
Day, with the theme “Universal
health coverage: everyone, everywhere.
Health for All”.
Chibuzo Opara, Co-CEO
DrugStoc Nigeria, said approaching
the issues of universal healthcare
is about elaborating equitable
and affordable healthcare
at the end of the day, adding that
there should be an agreement
and a commitment between
citizens and decision makers on
where the country places universal
healthcare among other
important priorities.
“In order to create a catalytic
process within the system,
we need to focus on tackling
the issue of financial access to
healthcare, holding individuals
and entities accountable and
measuring the impact of interventions
and activities in the
healthcare sector. Infrastructure
challenges are still a key issue
and the need to sensitise and
make people aware of the inherent
advantages in a healthy
population, especially now that
we are still a young aged country,”
said Opara
The World Health Organisation
(WHO) says the Universal
Health Coverage is a political
choice for countries themselves
to make. A study released recently
by WHO showed that 85
percent of the funding gap to
achieve universal health coverage
could be met by countries
themselves, although up to 32
of the poorest countries will
require development assistance
Analysts in the healthcare
sector also said that for universal
health coverage of Nigerians to
be possible, there is an urgent
need for the government to include
cancer treatment under
the NHIS operation, so that
more people will be able to afford
the treatment and also go
for screening.
They further say that government
needs to encourage activities
through non-governmental
agency to promote advocacy,
national policy on training of
personnel for clinical and nationwide
screening program in
order to enhance early detection,
control the upward trends
and reduce the mortality rate of
Non- communicable diseases.
Most public hospitals are
ill-equipped to handle disease
outbreaks while private hospitals
are expensive for the largely
poor mass of Nigerians.
According to Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General,
the world needs
a strong and broad coalition
to drive health impact; I will
continue to highlight universal
health coverage at G7 and G20
meetings, at regional summits
and at the United Nations General
Assembly.
“Universal health coverage is
ultimately a political choice. It is
the responsibility of every country
and national government to
pursue it. I personally commit
to spearheading the advocacy
required to secure the political
support of global, regional, and
national leaders
“We need to do more to enable
your advocacy and activism
efforts, to support of universal
health coverage and to increase
access to essential medicines
and health commodities” said
Ghebreyesus.
Health experts say for Nigeria
to achieve universal health
coverage to deliver substantial
health, economic and political
benefits across populations,
healthcare provision should be
considered as human right and
no one should be denied access
to healthcare due to financial
reasons, gender reasons, issues
related to geographical barriers
or any other issues which might
create a barrier to healthcare
access.
“Today, Nigeria is yet to find
solutions to most of the health
challenges in the country, like
incessant outbreaks of Lassa
fever, high maternal and child
deaths, poor primary health
facilities, lack of functioning
cancer machines, malnutrition,
poor health emergency
responses and many others.
This is happening because the
Nigerian governments, both at
federal and state levels, do not
place priority to healthcare,”
said Runcie Chidebe, executive
director of Project Pink Blue.
Universal health care, (also
referred to as universal health
coverage, universal coverage,
and universal care or socialised
health care) usually refers to a
health care system that provides
health care and financial protection
to all citizens of a particular
country. It is organised around
providing a specified package
of benefits to all members of
a society with the end goal of
providing financial risk protection,
improved access to health
services, and improved health
outcomes. Universal health care
is not one-size-fits-all and does
not imply coverage for all people
for everything. Universal health
care can be determined by three
critical dimensions: who is covered,
what services are covered,
and how much of the cost is
covered. It is described by the
World Health Organisation as
a situation where citizens can
access health services without
incurring financial hardship
KEMI AJUMOBI
With wired reports
WHO donates motorcycles to DSNO in Kwara
SIKIRAT SHEHU, ILORIN
Olaitan Adefila, the Permanent
Secretary of the
Kwara State Ministry of
Health has described mobility
as one of the strongest empowerment
that could be given to officials
in charge of surveillance.
Adefila stated this during the
presentation of motorcycles to
Disease Surveillance and Notification
Officials (DSNO) by
WHO at the ministry secretariat,
Fate Road, Ilorin.
The state government according
to him was very committed
to the well-being of people
through the provision of basic
social amenities like affordable
healthcare delivery, describing
the gesture as timely.
The Permanent Secretary
who commended the World
Health Organisation (WHO)
for distributing motorcycles to
Disease Surveillance and Notification
Officials in the state
and its efforts at ensuring that
Kwara remains a disease-free
state, said: “We are a state that
is eager to develop and only a
healthy people can be productive
and contribute to the development.
So, we are committed
to the well-being and health of
our people and we will continue
to do that”.
While describing the gesture
GHIT fund launches next phase, bringing entire investment to $123mn
The Global Health Innovative
Technology (GHIT)
Fund recently announced
a total of 1.6 billion yen (US$15.5
million) and 10 partnerships to
support product development of
new lifesaving drugs, vaccines
and diagnostics for malaria,
tuberculosis and neglected
tropical diseases such as Chagas
disease, schistosomiasis and
leishmaniasis.
The declaration was made
known as GHIT prepares to
enter its second five-year investment
cycle as they are committed
to steadily invest in hopeful
worldwide partnerships at each
stage of product advancement.
Reports show that since it
was launched in 2013, GHIT
has invested approximately 13.2
billion yen (US$123 million) in
74 global product development
partnerships that leverage Japanese
science and capabilities in
pharmaceutical research and
development.
According to BT Slingsby,
the CEO of GHIT, “We are immensely
proud of the robust
portfolio of potential lifesaving
products we have created with
our network of partners in Japan
and around the world). Adding
that “This highlights that our
business model, as a catalyst
and investor of product development,
is working, but the true
measure of success is getting
effective, affordable, tools into
the hands of every single person
who needs them. Now is when
the really important work starts,
as timely, Adefila noted
with delight that Kwara
was able to tackle diseases
like laser-fever due to its
proactiveness and timely
and we’re ready for it.”
The World Health Organisation
(WHO) states that there are
an estimated 50,000 to 90,000
new cases of visceral leishmaniasis.
Over 90 percent of all VL
cases are found in seven countries
in South Asia, Africa and
Latin America: Brazil, Ethiopia,
India, Kenya, Somalia, South
Sudan and Sudan.
A budget of approximately
88 million yen (US$0.8 million)
will be invested by GHIT
for a new partnership that will
bring together Japan’s Nagasaki
University (NEKKEN), National
Institute of Advanced Industrial
Science and Technology (AIST),
and High Energy Accelerator
Research Organization (KEK)
with the United Kingdom’s
London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
GHIT’s new investment of
approximately 88 million yen
(US$0.8 million) includes a
partnership between Japan’s
responses of surveillance
officials at the grassroots.
He advised the people of
the state to always contact
the nearest hospital any
Nagasaki University Institute
of Tropical Medicine (NUITM),
Pennsylvania State University
(PSU) and Antigen Discovery,
Inc (ADI)., both of the United
States, to develop a vaccine candidate
that is designed to block
the malaria parasite from using
the human body’s immune system
to power its invasion of red
blood cells.
Human malaria cases rose
in 2016 to 200 million, and the
Plasmodium falciparum form
of the disease continues to kill
more than 400,000 people every
year. Most of those killed are
children under 5 years old in
sub-Saharan Africa. While antimalaria
drugs, bed nets, indoor
spraying and other interventions
have produced progress
against malaria, a highly effective
vaccine could be a gamechanger
for malaria eradication
in the future.
GHIT will continue to invest
in the development of a new
time they notice the
symptoms of sickness,
as early response is the
key.
In his submission,
Katibi Mustapha, the
state coordinator of
W.H.O, described surveillance
as a key factor
in the disease control,
pointed out that the gesture
was to ensure that
DSNO makes appropriate
and quick responses
to nip diseases before it
progresses.
He explained further
that the gesture
was to complement the
state government efforts
medicine to combat tuberculosis.
While the common
form is treatable, infectious
disease experts worry that a
growing number of infections
with multidrug-resistant and
extensively drug-resistant
strains of tuberculosis could
lead to a major global health
crisis.
The first of its kind in Japan,
the GHIT Fund is an
international public-private
partnership between the Government
of Japan, multiple
pharmaceutical companies,
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
the Wellcome Trust,
and the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP).
The GHIT Fund invests and
manages a portfolio of development
partnerships aimed
at neglected diseases, such as
HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis
and neglected tropical
diseases that afflict the world’s
poorest people.
in detecting diseases
as early as possible so
that necessary medical
treatment would be
applied before the situation
gets worse.
The coordinator
urged the beneficiaries
to use the motorcycles
for the intended purpose
in the interest of
the people at the grassroots.
Abdullahi Yakub who
is from Kaiama Local
Government received
the state coordinator
award for the best performing
DSNO of the
year.
HBL TEAM
KEMI AJUMOBI, Editor - kemi@businessdayonline.com
ANTHONIA OBOKOH, ANI MICHAEL, Reporters I David Ogar, Graphics