By Asmau Ahmad with agency report
Stakeholders in the health sector have urged President Bola Tinubu to address the lingering health issues in the country.
The stakeholders, who made the callin separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the new government should be more sensitive to health and well-being of Nigerians.
The National President, Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, Pharm. Adewale Oladigbolu, urged the new government to give priority to local pharmaceutical drug manufacturers.
Oladigbolu said that such incentives would help scale up percentage of drugs produced in the country, which currently stand below 30 per.
“Government need to priortise incentives for drug manufacturers locally because drugs manufactured locaaly will generate lots of revenue, provide jobs and develop the sector.
“These incentives can be in form of low interest loan, setting up industrial parks in the six geo-political zones and stable power supply Amin others.
“This will increase the percentage of locally made drugs from below 30 per cent to 75 per cent target,” he said.
Speaking also, Prof. Basden Onuwubere, Chairman of the Nigeria Heart Foundation, hypertension Committee said the new government should be more sensitive to health and well-being of Nigerians.
Onuwubere said that the health insurance policy in the country should be effective to ensure more access to good and quality healthcare.
“Over the years, Nigeria governments in the past have been insensitive to health and education, a country where the allocation for health is less than five per cent of the budget is very bad.
“We hope the new government will be more sensitive and do more on health insurance.
“The previous governments tried in the area of health insurance, but this government should make it more effective,” he said.
