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HERFON Hopeful On National Health Bill
The executive secretary, Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON), Dr Mohammed Lecky, has expressed hope that the National Health Bill will provide a comprehensive legal framework for the coordination, administration, financing and governance of health care in Nigeria.
According to him, the bill defines the roles and functions of the three levels of the National Health System (federal, state and LGA) and emphasizes the need to strengthen the lowest tier of care (LGA) where capacity is weakest. “The bill establishes the Basic Health Services Fund that would ensure free access by all Nigerians to primary health care services,” he noted.
The National Health Bill has stirred controversies in Nigeria as health practitioners including medical doctors have been up in arms over it.
In May 2011, it was passed by the National Assembly but President Goodluck Jonathan did not sign it into law, ostensibly due to the wrangling from professional associations and other interests.
Almost four months since the passage of the National Health Bill by the Senate, the House of Representatives is on the verge of joining the upper house in passing it: it commences the reading of the bill today.
On February 18, 2014, the Senate passed the National Health Bill which is now before the House of Reps for concurrence, before reverting to President Jonathan for assent and passage into law.
Stakeholders in the sector said that the implementation of the bill would provide enormous boost to economic development, as health is now acknowledged worldwide as a key driver of economic growth and development as was demonstrated in the recently concluded World Economic Forum on Africa in Abuja.
Healthcare professionals ask reps to amend National Health Bill
Meanwhile, the Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations (AHPA) has urged the House of Representatives to amend Section 1(1), Section 9(2) (g), Section 13 and delete Section 10 (2) of the National Health Bill to protect the interest of all stakeholders in healthcare and that of the public interest.
According to the AHPA, these sections are contentious and would create, among other things, bureaucratic bottlenecks and duplicate the duties already delegated to some professional bodies such as the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of the group, national president of AHPA and chairman of Medical Lab Scientists Council, Dr G. C Okpara, who spoke during a courtesy call to the deputy speaker at the National Assembly yesterday, said there is need to conduct a public hearing on the National Health Bill to sort out those contentious areas.
The contentious areas as highlighted by Okpara are: “1.National Health System and Regulation of Health Services. Section 1(1); Secretary-ship of the National Tertiary Health Institutions Standards Committee, Section 9(2g); Powers of the Honourable Minister in Section 10 (2); Issuance of Certificate of Standards. Section 13(2); Establishment, Composition, functions and Tenure of National Health Research Ethics Committee in Section 33 (2) and Removal of tissues not qualified in sections 48, 51,52 and 53. This should be qualified to avoid exploitation of our people”.
He explained that they seek the changes because “the Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations is of the view that the proposed Health Act will be a General Act of Parliament with regards to the regulation of health services, while the various Acts which regulate the different professions in Healthcare are Specific Acts of Parliament, which ordinarily should take precedence over contending legislations”.
