Nigeria’ll overcome Trump’s sweeping policy changes –FG
The Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammadu Ali Pate, has expressed the assurance that Nigeria will overcome the United States President Donald Trump’s sweeping health policy changes stopping funding of health care interventions in developing countries. Prof. Pate stated this in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital on Tuesday during the inauguration of […]
Prof. Ali Pate
The Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammadu Ali Pate, has expressed the assurance that Nigeria will overcome the United States President Donald Trump’s sweeping health policy changes stopping funding of health care interventions in developing countries.
Prof. Pate stated this in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital on Tuesday during the inauguration of Bayelsa State Hemodialysis Centre and the General Outpatient Centre at the Bayelsa Medical University, as parts of weeklong activities to mark Governor Douye Diri’s five years in office.
The minister said it is imperative for all the tiers of government to work collaboratively to harness the country’s resources to provide for the health needs of the population.
Commending Governor Diri for his vision in establishing the hemodialysis centre in the state, Prof Pate said the governor had shown commitment in health care delivery.
Pate said: “Diabetes, hypertension and kidney failure and other non-communicable deseases are a major issue in our population and you are addressing it frontally by making active this hemodialysis centre. It’s really a strong statement of your commitment to address something that really touches the lives of thousands of our population so that people don’t die because they have kidney failure and you are doing it in a place that also train health workers to take care of them.
“As you are all aware, President Tinubu signed a contract with all the 36 states governments and FCT that we should join hands and transform Nigeria’s health sector to serve the Nigeria people.
“The President asked us to develop a Medical Relief Programme so that we can provide support to the people to reduce cost of access to health care. There are some challenges that have emerged in the last three weeks on health which is the US government policy changes but as a country, there is nothing we cannot overcome.
“The federal and state governments will work together to mitigate some of those challenges because even those who have HIV and kidney desease can come here and get treated without having to depend on someone from very far away land to come and support them.
“We are working to ensure that all the tiers of governments become responsible for the care of our population with the resources that we have, we can harness it and we can do it.”
Earlier, Governor Diri said he was motivated to establish the medical facility when he became governor following the death of his mother from renal failure complications in 2013.
He said: “When I came in, I said if there is a jinx in this 500-bed hospital, it must be broken. Today we are breaking that jinx, we have invested so much and today this hospital is ready for outpatients.
“I feel very fulfilled today that our people will no longer die of renal failure and that Bayelsa can now offer these services to Bayelsans and to Nigerians.We will continue to do more because health is wealth.”
The Minister also inaugurated the Zipline Drone Flight Services for the distribution of medical supplies and consumables, as well as the 800-metre concrete access road to the Zipline Facility.