Reform’ll transform health sector – Minister

The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole has said that the proposed Health Sector Reform in Nigeria is aimed at redefining and transforming the health care system in the country through partnerships between the government and key stakeholders, especially the private sector. 

Speaking at the contract signing ceremony/diagnostic review kick-off workshop of the Health Sector Reform Programme between the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and Vesta Healthcare-the consultant for the provision of diagnostic review advisory services for the health sector reform which held in Abuja on Monday, the minister assured Nigerians that the proposed reform was not outright privatisation of the health sector. 

He said the reform would identify ways to transform and streamline the health sector institutional frameworks and modernize existing government hospitals even as he noted that the sector in Nigeria over the years had been beset with myriad of problems resulting in poor outcomes and very low global ranking. 

Also speaking, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh said the reform is aimed at improving the availability, accessibility, quality and affordability of health services by expanding health services coverage to radically transform health care delivery across Nigeria. 

He noted that the reform would increase private sector participation and funding and not a divestiture of the health assets, stressing that it has two paths; Institutional reformation pathway and hospital modernization pathway. 

Okoh said a holistic and comprehensive reform of the sector was required to create the right environment to attract funding and participation from multilateral development institutions and the private sector; and that it was envisaged to reposition the sector and ensure efficient and effective healthcare service delivery. 

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