By Agboola Bayo
Ibadan
The zonal Superintendent of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Orisun-Ife Zonal headquarters in Ibadan, Oyo state, Pastor Gabriel Morakinyo Makinwa, yesterday advised Federal government to urgently review the national healthcare policy.
Makinwa gave the advice while speaking at the re-dedication of a Maternity Home constructed by the church in memory of his wife, Prophetess Felicia Abiodun Makinwa who passed on 20 years ago.
The cleric declared that the review would curb the prevailing trend in medical tourism abroad among influential Nigerians as well as to conserve the country’s foreign exchange for further physical
“We are calling on the federal government to attach top priority to healthcare and put it in the front burner of the national agenda. Medical tourism should be checkmated through urgent government intervention in the local facilities and promulgation of appropriate policies as we have more than enough qualified personnel to handle all types of ailments locally,” he said.
According to him, there is also the need for Federal government to make it mandatory for all government functionaries and other opinion leaders in the country to subject themselves, as a matter of patriotism, to medical facilities in the nation rather than going abroad for medical care even for the slightest ailment.
Emphasising the importance of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in boosting the nation’s health sector, Makinwa urged Nigerians to support the government’s initiative to develop the sector.
“Ironically, majority of the medical doctors and surgeons being used in these foreign countries are from Nigeria. Why then can’t we support the country’s health sector to operate optimally?”
