By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – The Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, on Tuesday declared that Nigerians must no longer die from preventable illnesses, demanding stronger action to make medical care accessible to all.

Ndukuba spoke in Abuja at the opening of the Third Church of Nigeria Health Summit, where he said the church must stop dwelling on plans and resolutions and begin turning its Health Action Plan into measurable results that improve the lives of Nigerians.

The summit featured the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, Dr Muyi Aina, and the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, represented by Mrs Chizoba Maduaguna.

“Our people must no longer die of preventable causes of sickness and death, and medical help should be available to all our people. They must live and not die,” Ndukuba said.

He said the church’s health mission must move beyond vision to implementation, with every diocese expected to develop practical and sustainable healthcare initiatives.

“We have had enough time. We have dwelt so long under this mountain. It is time to move on and we must move beyond vision into implementation and beyond intentions into having enduring impact,” he said.

Ndukuba listed economic hardship, inflation, migration of skilled health professionals, inadequate infrastructure, poor welfare for healthcare workers, emerging diseases and rising healthcare costs among the major challenges confronting the sector.

He disclosed that the Church of Nigeria was developing a Health Maintenance Organisation, HMO, with bishops committing to raise N1 billion by September, while Bet Rafa Medical Centre had received approval to commence full operations in the Federal Capital Territory.

Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, Dr Muyi Aina, said the Federal Government had refurbished 4,161 primary healthcare centres nationwide, with 3,275 completed and work ongoing on 886.

He said more than 23,000 skilled birth attendants, midwives, nurses and community health workers had been recruited, while 80,000 frontline health workers had been retrained.

“We have also covered emergency obstetric care for more than 80,000 pregnant women,” Aina said.

According to him, the Federal Government had disbursed N70.5 billion to primary healthcare since 2023, while more than 23 million Nigerians were currently insured through the National Health Insurance Authority.

Aina said service contacts at primary healthcare centres had risen to between 45 million and 46 million every quarter, from fewer than 30 million two years ago.

He added that maternal mortality had declined by 17 per cent and newborn mortality by 10 per cent over the past year in areas where the outcomes were objectively measured.

Representing the NAFDAC DG, Mrs Chizoba Maduaguna said universal health coverage could not be achieved without safe medicines and food.

“Every safe medicine that saves a life, every wholesome food that nourishes a family, every quality vaccine administered to a child, and every counterfeit product removed from circulation represents NAFDAC’s unwavering commitment to protecting Nigerians,” she said.

Maduaguna said NAFDAC had attained the World Health Organisation’s Maturity Level 3 status and was making progress towards accession to the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme, among other regulatory milestones.