By Asma’u Ahmad
A consultant psychiatrist, Professor Oye Gureje, has called for review of the nation’s outdated health policies at all levels of governance to meet international standards and conventions.
Professor Gureje, a Project Director and Professor of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
He said that the outdated and weak nature of the nation’s health policies was responsible for its inability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which elapsed in 2015.
“A strong health policy and system are more likely to deliver cost effective interventions, provide services according to the needs and rights of service users.
“A health system is an organisation of people and actions whose primary intent is to promote, restore or maintain health.
“It includes efforts to influence determinants of health as well as more direct health improving activities,’’ Gureje said.
The consultant psychiatrist said that the nation’s capacity to restructure the health system would determine its ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which became effective in 2016.
According to him, government should strive to attain health system goals like effectiveness, efficiency, responsiveness, equity, social and financial risk protection.
He said that an important health system would be able to treat and prevent ill-health and achieve health equity.
Gureje said: “Health system has constraints in low and middle-income countries which include chronic shortage of motivated and trained staff.
“Low budget, financial inaccessibility, staff with limited skills, high cost, and irregular supply of drugs, lack of functioning essential equipment, poor organisation and management.’’
He urged the Federal and State Governments to restructure the ministries of health; recruit and develop dedicated managers.
