The new National Health Act

First presented to the National Assembly in 2006, it was passed in the Senate two years later, but received the consent of the House of Representatives only in 2011. For reasons that have not been explained, Jonathan withheld assent at the time, although its importance as a legislation that promises to revolutionise access to improved […]

First presented to the National Assembly in 2006, it was passed in the Senate two years later, but received the consent of the House of Representatives only in 2011. For reasons that have not been explained, Jonathan withheld assent at the time, although its importance as a legislation that promises to revolutionise access to improved healthcare for most Nigerians was widely acknowledged. Now that it has become law, the expectation is that it will provide a strong framework for a sustainable healthcare delivery across the nation.
What delayed its passage had been the protracted conflict in the positions of the various professional bodies in the health service provision chain, such as physicians, pharmacists, nurses as well as medical laboratory scientists and technologists, each of which strove to secure advantages in the provisions of the Act.  In deference to them, the bill had to be amended at various stages to accommodate areas of consensus.  
The Act provides for the first time a statutory framework for collaboration in healthcare delivery among the three tiers of government. It stipulates the roles of the federal, state and local governments, while providing for the financial base for their successful performance in that respect. According to the Act, one percent of the nation’s consolidated revenue will be for primary healthcare.  Of this, 15% will be for maintenance of infrastructure, 20% for consumables and 50% for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).  
The Act also provides for a harmonized, nationwide regulatory regime featuring uniform standards for health establishments operating presently and in the future, under both public and private ownership, with respect to service delivery quality, personnel, facilities and infrastructure. Its intention is to eliminate quackery and illegal health clinics as well as provide Nigerians of all classes with the best and affordable healthcare service.  
If efficiently implemented, no Nigerian, no matter their indigent status, should be denied basic and qualitative healthcare in any condition. This factor alone makes it a welcome dispensation for the teeming masses in the country, for which standard healthcare is presently a utopian expectation.
It is instructive that the Act is informed by the need to eliminate the myriad of problems that had plagued the nation’s health sector for many years; it is in fact still the case today. These maladies include poor infrastructure, paucity of skilled personnel and the preponderance of quacks. Others are the near-absence of any regulatory regime and the prevalence of sharp practices, as well as the unending conflicts among the various professional groups and industrial strikes in the health sector
 The cumulative effect of all of these factors is the collapse of the nation’s healthcare system, with the inevitable loss of faith in it by Nigerians. In their desperation to obtain the wholesomeness in health, citizens put their trust in unorthodox responses, often with fatal consequences.  For the better off, jetting off to other countries to seek remedies for their ailments has become routine, with consequence for the Nigerian economy.
With the advent of the Act, the expectations that informed its enactment need to be met. It is incumbent on the government to embrace its pivotal role in the effective implementation of the provisions of the law, especially with respect to the compliance with standards, of healthcare service providers. The professionals whose role is crucial for the success of the legislation should put behind all areas of disagreement and close ranks in order that the nation reaps optimal dividends from the Act. The public also needs to be enlightened about the provisions of Act to facilitate its ultimate service value.