MamaYe launches #FundNaijaHealth to track health budget
MamaYe-Evidence for Action has launched #FundNaijaHealth, a campaign to track annual performance of health budget. The campaign calls for timely release of allocations appropriated for health; it also demands that annual budget timelines and all budgetary information be published online to facilitate citizen participation in budget planning and implementation. At the launch of the […]
MamaYe-Evidence for Action has launched #FundNaijaHealth, a campaign to track annual performance of health budget.
The campaign calls for timely release of allocations appropriated for health; it also demands that annual budget timelines and all budgetary information be published online to facilitate citizen participation in budget planning and implementation.
At the launch of the campaign to mark MamaYe Day 2018 in Abuja, country director of MamaYe-Evidence for Action, Dr Tunde Segun, said timely release of budget allocations impacted health care as much as any other sector of the economy.
“Health is not in isolation. When the country passes a budget, people’s health needs don’t go on pause. If you pass budget on timely basis and it is released for what it is meant for, then our health systems can improve,” he said.
The third call of #FundNaijaHealth is to increase annual budget allocated to health in hopes of meeting 15 per cent of national budget target agreed by African heads of government in 2001.
For the first time since 2014, the health budget includes 1 per cent of consolidated revenue for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund but concern has risen about how it will be spent.
In a keynote address, Senator Lanre Tejuosho, who chairs the Senate health committee, proposed having the health ministry change its approach to budget to emphasise paying for services rather than infrastructure and buildings.
“Over years, we have budgeted for infrastructure a lot and still complaining—that means something is wrong somewhere,” he argued.
He said a modified budget should more public-private partnership—an understanding that government could never provide all services and an encouragement of private sector to get interested in health care.
Civil society groups look set to welcome the new approach and include it in their advocacy campaign to buying services and not just equipment and budget release.
“It will fit around how we are expending the budget released,” said Segun.