Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire has called on African countries to increase regional manufacturing capacity of essential health items.
The Minister made this call in a presentation during the WHO AFRO 72 Regional Committee for Africa in Lome, Togo recently.
According to the Health Minister, the journey so far has not been easy for the sub region due to high dependency on imported goods and the impact of COVID-19 on overseas manufacturers, which spend soaring prices and shortages of goods, where Africa was at the bottom of the priority list for commodities and vaccines. “Africa must increase regional manufacturing capacity of essential health items,”.
He further stated that Nigeria is among the countries still recovering from the social and economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to control it.
Ehanire earlier stated that Nigeria is working hard to strengthen public health security for better preparedness for future challenges and improve routine health care towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.
Also, in preparedness for current and future challenges the Minister said “Nigeria has improved and expanded it’s public laboratory networks, intensive care units, isolation centres and increased oxygen production capacity to build back better.”
In a statement signed by Ahmadu Chindaya,
Deputy Director and Head Media and Public Relations, government under the health sector reform is increasingly improving it’s services and capacity especially under the Primary Health Care (PHC), crowning it with signing of the new National Health Insurance Authority, which makes health care insurance mandatory.
