Idris Laments Inadequate Funding In Healthcare

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, has recently decried the limited allocation to healthcare at all tiers of government in the country, saying that this will not in anyway change, if stakeholders don’t see it as a matter of urgency to be considered.

Idris who opined, in a MWN reports noted that we have little or no infrastructure to match our intimidating population. “The good thing is that people are thinking along the same line with the government. It is good for all of us to know the challenges so that we can sit down and draw attention to them. The issue of infrastructure; we have very little compared to a population of 170 million people. We have nothing compared to the population.”

Idris added: “Resources are inadequate in both primary secondary and tertiary. To mention the issue of human resources, that one is a serious matter not only for the country but Lagos state too. People normally say, ‘we have enough work forces but compare it to the population we serve,’ it is nothing. The fact still remains that government need to invest in health. Federal, state and local is not investing enough in health.”

He continued: “When it comes to allocation of money, health is relegated to the background. It is only when there is epidemic they will start looking for health using Ebola as a case study. To issues of quality, we do not deliver quality health to be frank. It is time we rebuild our stand and start doing things differently. We need innovation, government need to invest in health. World Health Organisation (WHO) stipulated 15 percent of countries’ budget compared to Nigeria’s five per cent or less.

“Some states provide as low as two per cent those states hardly pay salaries. How they will develop infrastructure. Lagos state is lucky because the last three governments, with serious push and noise making we see slowly in rising allocation in health sector. We seek partnership with bio sector and the private sector. Our system allows people to get sick before you treat them and that is not sustainable”.