Sodiq Ojuroungbe
The Ogun State Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Kunle Ashimi has advised the new president, Bola Tinubu to allow private sector takeover of the country’s health sector.
He explained that privatisation will solve the numerous problems bedevilling the sector.
The Orthopaedic Surgeon also urged Tinubu to make basic health insurance a right for every Nigerian.
Tinubu was sworn in as President of Nigeria today (Monday) in Abuja, at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
The Oath of Office was administered by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kayode Ariwoola.
He succeeded the former President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) who on Thursday, in Abuja, handed over the transition documents to him.
Tinubu, a former Senator and governor of Lagos State was declared the winner of the February 2023 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress polled a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat his closest rival of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, who polled a total of 6,984,520 votes in the election while Peter Obi of the Labour Party, came third in the election with a total of 6,101,533 votes.
Meanwhile, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP came fourth with a total of 1,496,687 votes.
Tinubu did not make any reference to the health sector in his inaugural speech, but he touched on keynote policies and initiatives that will herald the start of his administration.
These include fuel subsidy removal, job creation, prosperity for youth, higher GDP growth, security, establishment of agricultural hubs across the country, fine-tuning of monetary policy and foreign policy, peace and stability of the West African sub-region and the African continent.
Speaking with Reportr Door Healthwise shortly after the swearing-in ceremony, the NMA chairman said Tinubu should hand over the ownership of health institutions and its management to private investors.
He noted that there should be no budgetary allocation for the sector except the basic health insurance scheme.
Dr. Ashimi pointed out that full privatization of the sector will also put an end to the inability to access basic healthcare by many Nigerians.
He said, “My personal opinion is that Tinubu should privatize the public health sector. The health sector should be fully private-owned.
“The President should also give basic health insurance to all Nigerians. Instead of budgeting huge funds for health, he can say this is the number of Nigerians to benefit and maybe through their NIN, can get a basic health insurance plan. Even if it is a minimum of N10,000 per annum for a person, it will be for everyone instead of a huge budget set aside for health.
“Let the private sector man all the health institutions so that every Nigerian can have basic health insurance, such that if anyone wants something higher than what the government is providing, they can top up their cards. Privatising the healthcare sector will solve a lot of problems.”
Dr. Ashimi said all Nigerians, including those in the rural areas, should be able to register for the National Identification Number so as to make the privatization initiative work.
According to him, “If all Nigerians can register and have their NIN card, which is what would be attached to the basic health insurance, they can go to any health centre to get treatment. This is better than the government putting money in the hands of a few to manage the health sector. That is how corruption in the sector started.
“When the private sector manages hospitals and they know that there is insurance coverage and that money will be well managed, they will get people to do the work. Those hospitals will be appropriately managed.”
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