Bayelsa Govt Calls for Community-Based Healthcare Financing Model
Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, on Friday, called on all tiers of government to implement extant health policies and programmes that would enable rural people to access improved healthcare services.
He stressed that this could be achieved through what he described as community-based healthcare insurance scheme financing.
Diri stated this while declaring open the 2022 Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Bayelsa State branch, at the DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall of the Government House, Yenagoa.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, noted that the problem of Nigeria is not lack of know-how on healthcare financing but lack of courage to implement existing policy frameworks.
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Underscoring the importance of health to humans, he urged the Federal Government to make it mandatory for state and local governments to domesticate and implement the national health insurance scheme irrespective of the fact that health falls within the Concurrent Legislative List.
Diri pointed out that lack of human resources occasioned by the brain-drain syndrome constitutes serious insecurity to the health sector of the nation, and urged medical practitioners to join efforts with other patriotic forces to build the health industry.
He said, “Healthcare Financing is not much of a challenge in Nigeria because there is clear evidence of the tendency and willingness to fund. What is lacking is the determination and the courage to do so.
