By Sarauniya g Usman,Abuja
Nigeria Country Director, One Campaign,Mr Stanley Achonu, says 34 states fail to meet the 15 per cent adequate health funding bench mark for 2020-2022 for Africa.
This was made known in a statement made available to Newsmen by Mr the Public Relations Officer of the organisation Damilare Ogunmowo, on Thursday in Abuja.
According to him the country director of One Campaign said Nigeria’s health indicators are reportedly some of the worst in Africa. COVID-19 has exposed additional gaps in the country’s healthcare system.
He said a new health report released by the Campaign revealed this.
Achonu said the report, titled “Post-Pandemic Health Financing by State Governments in Nigeria 2020 to 2022,” provided an in-depth analysis of sub-national and federal government health expenditure trends.
He said the report revealed that while the combined budgetary allocations of all 36 states increased by 12.8 percent between 2020 and 2022, in real terms, the health sector received less funding in 2022 than in 2020 when adjusted for inflation.
“The report also reveals that the proportion of total budgets allocated to health by most state governments is on a downward trend, reflecting the quality of healthcare delivery in the country.
“In 2001, the heads of state of African Union countries met in Abuja and pledged to devote at least 15% of their annual budgets to improving the health sector. But two decades after the Abuja Declaration, Nigeria still struggles to meet this goal.
“The COVID-19 pandemic also revealed the challenges in Nigeria’s healthcare system, with stakeholders and many Nigerians hoping it would be the game-changer.
“That will motivate governments at all levels to prioritise healthcare, commit more funds to revitalize the sector, drive improved health outcomes and protect the masses from future health emergencies.
Achonu said the report however showed a deviation from this expectation, with more than ten state governments in Nigeria reducing their fiscal allocations to healthcare since the pandemic hit in 2020, putting a strain on an already-stressed sector.
He added that 13 States have reduced their fiscal allocations to the health sector. Only two states (Kaduna and Sokoto) consistently met the 15 per cent health allocation target between 2020 and 2022.
He said public health allocations per person have fallen from $10.8 per person in 2020 to $8.5 per person in 2022. The country director said the sector required ambitious strategies and adequate funding in order to serve the masses, particularly the poor and most vulnerable in the society.
” It is, therefore, extremely worrisome that some state governments are slashing their annual allocations to health when they should be striving to meet the Abuja Declaration’s 15 percent funding benchmark.
“As the 2023 budget season approaches, governments at all levels must prioritise health care and allocate a significant portion of their budget to improving healthcare delivery. “Adequate disbursements should follow these allocations to finance health infrastructure and programs.”
“Governments must commit to evidence-based programming, ensure effective stakeholder participation in budgeting processes, invest in primary health care centers, and complement adequate funding with sufficient health workers and effective health system governance,” Achonu