N/Assembly to improve on health sector oversight

The National Assembly has said that it would improve its oversight of the health sector and health expenditure as well as ensure judicious management of resources allocated to the sector given the decline in oil revenues. This was the resolve of participants at a retreat on the significance of health for development, organized for members […]

The National Assembly has said that it would improve its oversight of the health sector and health expenditure as well as ensure judicious management of resources allocated to the sector given the decline in oil revenues.

This was the resolve of participants at a retreat on the significance of health for development, organized for members of both the appropriation and health committees of the Senate and House of Representatives by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) in Midrand, South Africa.

The participants also resolved that in Sline with the Abuja Declaration of 2001, they would strive to achieve a minimum of 15 percent of the total annual budget for the health sector and 1 percent of the consolidated revenue fund would be committed to the health sector as stipulated by the National Health Act.

This comes against the backdrop of several negative reports on the Nigerian health sector despite attempts and reform initiatives of government.

NILS said in a statement that the objective of the retreat was to draw comparative experiences from Southern African countries on budgeting for Health.

It was also to deepen technical expertise and broaden the activities of members of the two committees to improve systematic and effective oversight of the health sector in Nigeria.