By Joseph Erunke, ABUJA

President Bola Tinubu says his Renewed Hope Health Agenda is determined to leave a legacy of a primary healthcare system that is more resilient than ever.

This came as  regretted that the primary healthcare has received the least attention and continues to add to the burden of morbidity and mortality especially due to pregnancy related conditions making it the weakest link of the health service delivery system in the country .

The president insisted that he was committed to addressing existing challenges of inadequate and inequitable distribution, inadequate infrastructure, obsolete and inadequate equipment, inadequate and poorly skilled human resources among others.

He spoke on Friday through his Special Adviser on Health,Dr Salma Anas-Kolo,at the Annual Health Conference of the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists with the theme: “Health Security: Nigeria’s efforts to Achieve Universal Health Coverage” with sub-themes to address pertinent health issues around family planning, medical tourism and access to quality care. 

Speaking at the event held in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, WHO, in Akwanga, Nasarawa State,the President who spoke on “Improving Access to Healthcare:The Role of the Media”, explained that the integrated system his administration was promoting “is to ensure that as soon as a pregnant woman visits a healthcare facility, the quality and level of care she requires to deliver a healthy child is assured.”

He recommended that primary healthcare centres should be linked to a secondary care facility for ease of referrals of cases requiring more expert attention.

He said :”In the integrated system that we are promoting, our aspiration is to ensure that as soon as a pregnant woman visits a healthcare facility, the quality and level of care she requires to deliver a healthy child is assured including the payment for the services she would receive, ensuring that she is covered under one form of health insurance or the other. 

” A strong PHC system is recognized as not only necessary for delivery of UHC, but also for optimal disease surveillance and epidemic response. We recognize that where disease surveillance and epidemic response efforts are integrated into the PHC system, the health system is better able to respond to outbreaks in a more organized and sustainable manner.”

“The role of the Primary Health Care in Improving access to healthcare towards the attainment of UHC in a holistic,comprehensive and sustainable manner that would impact on the productive potential of the people for desirous national growth and development of the country.”

Dr Salma Anas-Kolo said the  choice of the topics as focus in the conference was apt ,given that critical discussions on the challenges with suggestions on the solutions from policy to implementation mechanisms will be reviewed during the course of the event. 

She said:The importance of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Health Security cannot be over emphasized as provided in the health-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs). 

“Likewise, the UHC 2030 Action Agenda has rightfully recognized the interlink between achieving UHC and Health Security as critical for having an efficient and resilient health system which should be based on a resilient primary health care system as integral foundation.

“The PHC is the fulcrum for a resilient health system and should be structured to be able to deliver services that will support the attainment of UHC and guarantees health security. 

“The PHC is the entry point into the health care service delivery system where 80% of the health issues should be sorted out and essential with basic care needs provided. 

“As a gateway to accessing health services, it should be designed to fit the purpose for proper functioning and operations to be prepared for the needs of the community where it is located. 

“It should be a hub of positive interaction that give hope and relieves anxieties and distress to whoever is there whether as care giver or client/patient. It should be community owned and led for optimal utilization and sustainability of the PHC system along the aspirations and potentials of the people and their developmental growth needs. The PHC should be linked to a secondary care facility for ease of referrals of cases requiring more expert attention.”