The Wife of the
President, Aisha Buhari on Monday carpeted the health care delivery system
in the country and reserved special criticism for the State House Clinic, which
she said lacks basic equipment for medicare.
She called for a probe of
the budget utilisation at the clinic.
Mrs Buhari expressed the
views at the stakeholders meeting on Reproductive, Maternal, New Born, Child,
Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH and N) in Abuja.
The event was also used to
inaugurate the Governors Wives Advocacy Group (GWAG) on reproductive health in
the country.
“I would like to be
realistic to say a few words concerning health delivery system in Nigeria. It
is very poor, sorry to say that.
“I am happy that the MD of
Aso Clinic is here. Dr Manir, I am happy that you are here.
“As you are aware for the
past six months Nigeria was not stable because of my husband’s ill health.
“We thank God that he has
fully recovered now.
“If somebody like Mr
President can spend several months outside Nigeria, you wonder what will happen
to a common man on the street in Nigeria.
“Few weeks ago I was sick
as well; they advised me to take a first flight to London; I refused to go.
“I said I must be treated
in Nigeria because there is a budget for an assigned clinic to take care of us.
“If the budget was N100
million, we need to know the way the budget is spent.
“And along the line I
insisted; they called Aso clinic to find out if their X-ray machine was
working, they said it was not working; they didn’t know that I was the person
that was to be at that hospital at that very time.
“I had to go to a hospital
that was established by foreigners in and out 100 per cent.
“What does that mean?’’
“I think it is high time
for us to do the right thing.’’
The Wife of the President
noted that if something like that happened to her, there was no need to ask the
governors wives what the situation was in their states.
She said Abuja was the
highest seat of government and the incident was about the Presidential Villa.
Mrs Buhari acknowledged
that Nigeria had very good health policies, the best in Africa.
“Yes of course we have
(policies) but implementation is always the problem.
“So we need to change our
mindset and do the right thing.’’
She said that a lot of constructions
were on-going at Aso Clinic when the hospital lacked basic medical equipment
and tools.
“There are lots of
constructions going on in that hospital but there is no single syringe there;
what does that mean? Who will use the building?
“So we have to be good in
reasoning; you are building and there is no equipment, no consumables in that
hospital and the constructions are still going on.
She expressed that as a
result of the president’s absence on medical vacation, “a 40-year-old man who
is still living in his father’s house created a state out of a state and that
is a major setback to the country.
“I hope that such a thing
will not be repeated,’’ she stated.
Mrs Buhari appreciated the
wives of the governors and other stakeholders for attending the event as an
attestation of the importance they attached to the issue of maternal and child
health.
She said it was sad to
know that Nigeria was one of the countries with the worst health records for
children and women in spite of the efforts of the past, adding that more needed
to be done.
She explained that it
informed her Future Assured Initiative two years ago to champion the well-being
of women and children. She acknowledged the support of all stake holders for
their continued support.
“We are here today to
build our alliances that will help strengthen our advocacy for reproductive,
maternal, new born, child, adolescent health and nutrition at the state level.
“By creating a strong
coalition, we will increase awareness on the importance of improving RMNCAH and
Nutrition, promote advocacy for better service delivery and increase the
utilization of RMNCAH and Nutrition services,’’ she noted
She expressed optimism
that the Governors Wives Coalition established at the event would provide a
platform for them to lend a strong voice for improving the health status of
women and children in the country.
Mrs Buhari urged the
governors wives to champion the cause of advocacy to support the RMNCAH and N
programmes in their various states.
She advised them to
dedicate a section of the Governors’ wives forum meeting agenda to update
themselves on the progress of the advocacy in their various states.
Accordingly, Mrs Buhari
donated a floor of the three-floor building of the Future Assured Centre in
Wuse Abuja to the Women for the purpose of the advocacy.
She called on development
partners to support the coalition to achieve better health outcomes for
Nigeria.
She pledged to commit all
platforms available to her as wife of the President and as champion of RMNCHA
and N to continue to provide maximum support to the importance cause and urged
the governors’ wives to do same
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