NCDC Seeks Increased Funding For Health Security
The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa has called for increased domestic budgetary allocation to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats in the country.
Dr Adetifa made the call on Monday, at the second Joint External Evaluation for the International Health Regulations Core Capacities which was held in Abuja.
Adetifa said dedicated funding for the implementation of health security will increase capacities in responding to public health threats.
Joint External Evaluation is a voluntary multi-sectoral process and one of the four components of the IHR monitoring and evaluation framework which involves a diverse team of experts, collectively evaluating a nation’s preparedness and response capacities across 19 technical areas, under the guidance of relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
Nigeria conducted its first JEE in 2017.
Speaking at the event, Adetifa said, “We need to prioritise health. Health goes beyond capital projects – buildings and facilities. You need the human capital, equipment, training, and quality systems. Once we get the political leadership to properly prioritise health, then health will receive more funding.
“I believe that some state governments are committing quite a bit of their own budget to health. What we need to see is to make that a groundswell; that even more states are doing that, and that the national government is doing that.