By Haruna Gimba
The House of Representatives said the National Health Act 2014 (NHAct2014) amendments bill has passed second reading at the green chamber in the year 2020, and soon will be ready for public hearings.
Chairman of the House Committee on Healthcare Services, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu who disclosed this in a post, said preparation is on top gear for public hearings.
“Nigerians should take time to identify gaps in the Act and its implementations so that we can together fill in the gaps. Remember that the NHAct is the bedrock of our health policies.
“Therefore, let use the 2020 health shocks, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, to build a resilient health system for 2021 and beyond,” Dr Sununu said.
The Nigeria’s National Health Act 2014 (NHAct 2014) was signed into law on October 31, 2014 by former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. It provides a legal framework for the regulation, development, and management of the country’s health system.
The NHAct 2014 provides for the establishment of a national health system which is supposed to define and provide a framework for standards and regulation of health services.
It was designed to achieve quality health practices and Universal Healthcare Coverage.
The implementation of the Act has commenced since 2019 and a lot of progress was achieved, where funds are being disbursed up to the level of Primary Healthcare Centres.
The proposed amendment of the NHAct 2014 by the legislators sought to get more funds from the initial 1% to 2%, for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) as enshrined in the Act.
Through the BHCPF implementation which started since 2018, Nigerian government has allocated N58 billion, N51 billion and N25 billion in 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively.
