ABUJA – (Federal Ministry of Health Report) – The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole (Prof) has disclosed that 5% of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund will go to health emergency management which covers all aspects of healthcare, including accident and diseases.
This was contained in the speech delivered by the Minister lately, while receiving top management officials from the Public Health England (PHE) United Kingdom, who were on a working visit to Nigeria.
In describing the NCDC as the flag-ship of Disease Outbreak Management and Control in Nigeria, he assured that the Federal Government is committed to supporting the centre. He however noted that Nigeria needs the expertise and knowledge from the UK Public Health Office due to her years of experience. The Minister also expressed his gratitude for the partnership, adding that the Government of Nigeria would work in close collaboration with PHE for a mutually beneficial partnership.
On the synergy between the countries, he said it would go a long way in building a strong team for Nigeria and strengthen collaboration between technical agencies and the Federal Ministry of Health. He later urged the UK Government to play a more active role in the Nigerian health sector by helping with capacity building, publishing of health materials and exchange of experts on laboratory services.
Speaking earlier, the Head of the delegation, who is the Chief Executive of Public Health England, Duncan Selbie said their the visit to the Ministry was to check and assess the size and scope of the NCDC and the role which the organisation plays in the Public Health System.
Duncan Selbie informed that the PHE had supported NCDC in the development of its National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS); the training of staff from the National Reference Laboratory and the network of public health laboratories on enteric pathogen testing. He identified the development and strengthening of protocols for NCDC’s incident management system and several other project areas as some of the support, stating that other activities are still on-going.
Selbie emphasized on the fact that the goal was to support the strengthening of health security in Nigeria, noting that he had visited the NCDC National Reference Laboratory and met with several partners. He further expressed delight for the strong role which NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health are playing.
He stressed that the UK Government was poised to enhance the Nigerian Public Health Sector, considering the strategic importance of Nigeria in the Public Health region and African continent in general.
In a related development, Duncan Selbie presented souvenirs to the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole; the Permanent Secretary, Abdullazeez Abdullahi and other key management staff of the Ministry in recognition of their contributions to the sector, particularly regarding disease emergency management and control in the country
