Current Spending On Healthcare In Nigeria Deplorable, Unacceptable - Ayuk

By Kingsley Agim

Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk has decried the negligible attention and current spending on healthcare in Nigeria, saying it is deplorable and totally unacceptable. 

Dr. Ayuk, who was speaking, Thursday, at the International Cooperation and Investment Summit in Calabar, said Nigeria was spending far less than $10 per Capita while countries like Sweden were spending over $10,000. 

He said Nigeria and most of her State governments are still grappling with allocating less than five percent of their total budgetary allocations on health far below the 15 percent agreed globally. 

"No partner or donor will like to put his money on such abysmal arrogance and neglect of the health sector. As we equally need donor and private sector participation in healthcare, host countries must prove their competence in domestic resource mobilisation. The first point to call is improvement of public fiscal appropriation for health," he remarked.

Maintaining that no significant progress can be made in healthcare service delivery under the present financial situation, the Commissioner called on the federal government to, as a matter of urgent public importance, make an upward review of budgetary provision for the health sector.

The two-day International Cooperation and Investment Summit, themed 'Paradigm Shift,' began on Wednesday through Thursday, August 31, drew participants from all walks of life, notably, the international business community, the diplomatic corps, local and international development partners to the palatial Calabar International Convention Centre, where investments potentials of the State were laid bare before industry giants to explore possible ways of ploughing investment into Cross River State.