President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday the Federal Government is considering an upward review of budgetary allocation to the health sector in order to improve the quality and access to medical facilities across the country.
Buhari, who received the new executive of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) at the State House, Abuja, said the review of the budgetary allocation would reflect the government’s priority of ensuring that Nigerians get better healthcare, especially in specialized areas.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President said: “We place quality healthcare on our priority list and we are already marching on with the Primary Health Care services and some state governors have bought into it. We are committed to universal health care.’’
The President assured the leaders of the NMA that the White Paper from the Ahmed Yayale-led panel report on Inter-professional Harmony in the Healthcare Sector was already being considered by the government to ensure more organized and harmonized working relationships among medical practitioners.
He, however, urged the medical practitioners to always consider their profession as “divine call’’ especially in taking decisions that directly impact on the lives of Nigerians.
He said other means of negotiation for better working conditions should be explored instead of strikes.
“The medical profession is regarded as a divine call because of the strategic role you play in the lives of human beings,’’ President Buhari added.