Saraki joins demand for 1% CRF denied health

Toyin Saraki, wife of the Senate President, says Nigeria stands to reap dividends in coming years, if it invests even 1% of its national revenue in primary health care. Speaking ahead of a panel discussion organised to mark MamaYe Day in Abuja on Thursday, Saraki, founder of Wellbeing Foundation Africa, said, “If at least 1% […]

Toyin Saraki, wife of the Senate President, says Nigeria stands to reap dividends in coming years, if it invests even 1% of its national revenue in primary health care.

Speaking ahead of a panel discussion organised to mark MamaYe Day in Abuja on Thursday, Saraki, founder of Wellbeing Foundation Africa, said, “If at least 1% of consolidated revenue fund is devoted to restoring, revitalising and building resilience in our primary health sector, it is an investment we will continue to reap the dividends [from] for years to come.”

Saraki, who chairs the National Assembly’s PHC revitalisation support group (of more than 72 civil society and nongovernment organisations) said government and all its local and international development partners must “concentrate of improving care at the primary health care level. It is where you can actually invest in keeping people well.”

At least 1% of consolidated revenue is meant to be a statutory transfer into the Basic Primary Health Care Fund guaranteed by the National Health Act, but no allocations for it has gone into the budget in two years.

Calculations show around N49 billion could have gone into the Fund, if the statutory 1% went into the 2017 budget.

Health got around 4% of the 2017 budget, leaving a gap of nearly N790.5b to attain 15% of national budget, as required by the Abuja Declaration, according to an analysis by Evidence 4 Action, which implements MamaYe in Nigeria.

Country director of E4A, Dr Tunde Segun, told Daily Trust that the clamour for a bigger 15% share of national budget for health does not negate demand of statutory transfer of 1% of national revenue into a health fund.

“These things are not mutually exclusive. The more resources you have, if they are judiciously used, then the more you can save the lives of mothers and babies,” said Segun.

He noted that groups like MamaYe, a project to provide evidence to back campaign for increased health finance, have in the past few years seen better engagement of civil society organisation with the government and the national assembly is opening up the space for debates.