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Mothers have their babies vaccinated at the Primary Healthcare Centre |
As the 9th National Assembly winds down its parliamentary duties, the need to fast-track harmonisation of pending critical bills that can boost the nation’s health security and response to public health emergencies and transmit them to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent within the few weeks left for this administration cannot be overemphasized.
The recent outbreaks of infectious diseases such as Ebola,
Lassa fever, and COVID-19 have highlighted the urgent need for a strong legal
framework to guide the response to public health emergencies.
Already, there are series of new public health bills aimed
at enhancing the country’s response to public health emergencies and these
bills include the Public Health Emergency Bill, which seeks to provide a
comprehensive legal framework for managing public health emergencies, and the
Amendment of the National Health Act, which seeks to address gaps in the
existing legislation that hinder effective response to public health
emergencies. In addition, the Port Health Authority Bill is aimed at
establishing and strengthening the Port Health Authority, responsible for
health security at the country’s borders.
Considering the implications of these Bills on public health
in Nigeria, the Nigeria Health Watch in collaboration with the Global Health
Advocacy Incubator brought together stakeholders from the government, civil
society, academia, and the media to discuss the importance of these bills and
the potential impact.
Speaking at the event in Abuja, the Chairman of, Senate
Committee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe expressed determination of the National
Assembly to harmonize the Public Health Bill, which is currently before the
Senate and the House of Representatives, and ensure that the Bill is assented
to by the President before the end of the current administration.
Oloriegbe explained that the bill, which the Senate passed
in January 2022, would be harmonised with the Control of Infectious Diseases
Bill presented by the House of Representatives.
He said: “As at the time we had COVID-19, it was the
Quarantine Act that we had. There was a debate that led to the repeal of the
Quarantine Act and the enactment of a new public health law. A version of that
law was passed in the House, and one was passed in the Senate. We are at the
stage of harmonisation now. I am chairing a committee in the Senate and plan to
call a joint meeting to consider and adopt a comprehensive version that we will
jointly present.”
The lawmaker stated that if, however, the bill is not
assented to, the 10th Assembly would follow up and ensure its success. But I am
very optimistic that the President will assent to the Bill, he added.
On the Public Health Emergency Bill, Oloriegbe noted that
the Nigerian Senate passed the Bill in January 2022 to revoke the 96-year-old
Quarantine Act and establish a legal and administrative framework for managing
public health emergencies of national and international concern.
He said: “The last four years have been good for health. We
had round pegs and round holes health is a professional sector and requires
some technical knowledge, skills, competence and experience to be able to hit
the ground running. We had it better because at least two out of five of us
that are leading the health committees had background in medicine and we
brought this on board.
So what you should do in order to get health budget and
health security to continue, I think the first thing is to advocate for what
are called appropriate leadership for health committees. Now you see people
lobbying for speakers and for senate president leadership. There’s civil
society that are interested in health, should lobby for people that they feel
have the understanding, to be in health.”
Oloriegbe called on the incoming government to increase the
health budget to a minimum of 10 per cent within the first year of budget and
upgrade it to 15 per cent Abuja Declaration before the end of four years to
enable the country to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
He also appealed to the incoming administration to look at
additional and alternative sources of funding for health adding that the Senate
has already passed an amendment to make Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF)
two percent instead of the present one percent.
The lawmaker observed that the current budgetary allocation
to health is very small and that the situation is worse at the sub-national
level stressing that many states after paying staff salaries, does not provide
resources for health services.
Oloriegbe argued that public funding for health must be
increased if the country wants to achieve Universal Health Coverage,
He also lamented that some of the funds meant for allocated
to health issues like the cancer funds, the BHCPF are behind in terms of
implementation.
Oloriegbe expressed disappointment that after 100 percent of
the health budget was released, the Federal Ministry of Health implemented less
than 30 per cent of the budget and returned money to government describing it
as a poor absorbing capacity.
Also speaking, the Chairman, House Committee on Health
Services, Hon. Tanko Sununu said that the National Assembly played a critical
role in combating infectious disease outbreaks in the country.
Sununu said that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that
disease outbreaks can have devastating consequences for the entire country
adding that pandemic preparedness and response depend on strong local and
national capacities.
He said that the 9th National Assembly has significantly
achieved much in strengthening the country’s health security.
The lawmaker urged the Media to collaborate with the health
committees at the National Assembly to foster ways to enhance the
implementation of the new public health bills in the country.
Earlier, Dr. Emmanuel Alhassan, Global Health Advocacy
Incubator, said that the 9th National Assembly has engaged very actively with
various stakeholders to improve the policy and legislative landscape in the
country adding that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical
importance of robust and sustained funding for public health emergencies.
He added that the pandemic has also emphasized the need for
strong and effective public health legislation that can support such funding, stressing
that by strengthening this legislative frameworks and processes, the country
can build back better and will be better prepared for future pandemic
In her welcome address, the Managing Director, of Nigeria
Health Watch, Mrs. Vivianne Ihekweazu, said that for effective response to
public health emergencies in the country, there is need for supporting
legislation and financing, adding that Nigeria needs to learn from what
happened with the COVID-19 pandemic and build formidable systems that can withstand
future pandemics.
Ihekweazu noted that the Nigerian legislative leaders have
collaborated with relevant stakeholders and partners to propose a series of new
public health bills aimed at enhancing the country’s response to public health
emergencies.
These bills, according to her, include the Public Health
Emergency Bill, which seeks to provide a comprehensive legal framework for
managing public health emergencies.
Ihekweazu explained that the media roundtable was to provide
an opportunity for experts to share their views on these bills and identify
areas where further action is needed to ensure that the country is better
prepared to respond to public health emergencies.
She noted that these bills have significant implications for
public health in the country, and as such, it is critical that they are
thoroughly examined and discussed by key stakeholders in the health sector.