The Federal Government has re-affirmed its commitment to providing improved health service delivery to all Nigerians.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, gave the assurance when the management team of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, Abuja, led by its Chairman, Dr. Alex Tosan Ideh, paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
SGF said that the government is committed to providing improved health service delivery to all Nigerians through the enactment of the National Insurance Authority (NIA) Act, which, according to him, would go a long way to making basic health service delivery accessible and affordable to all Nigerians, thereby reducing out-of-pocket expenses among the poor.
He also acknowledged the role the FMC played in complementing government’s efforts in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic, and promised that the Federal Government would assist the Centre toward the realization of its lofty goals.
SGF noted the need for transparency and due process in the recruitment processes of health practitioners into the primary, secondary and tertiary health institutions across the country, adding that employing qualified hands would boost health service delivery in the country.
The SGF also promised to interface with the Hon. Minister of the FCT towards the provision of additional land for the expansion of the facility for effective health – care delivery service.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Jabi, Dr. Tosan Alex Ideh, apprised the SGF of some modest achievements of the Center so far, and sought Federal Government’s intervention to purchase the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine to assist the Centre in catering for the health needs of Nigerians.
The Chairman lamented the surge of brain drain in the health sector, which has affected health service delivery as scores of health practitioners are leaving the country to other countries.
He also appealed to the SGF to assist the health sector in removing some inherent bottlenecks in the recruitment processes, to enable the sector recruit more personnel for improved health service delivery for all Nigerians.
The Managing Director of the hospital, Prof Saad Ahmed commended the SGF in his capacity as the Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee which delivered a world class response to the COVID-19 pandemic.