The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, says the COVID-19 pandemic has trapped everyone in their countries, with no one in Nigeria being able to travel abroad for medical treatment.
He said it brought out the reality of the necessity to build a strong health system.
He said the primary health care system was an exclusive responsibility of the councils while the secondary health care system was that of the state government, leaving the Federal Government with the responsibility of taking care of the tertiary health care system.
Mustapha said,
“We have over 10,000 primary health centres in Nigeria but how many of them are working? This is a major issue. That was why I said on Thursday during my address to the National Assembly that we need to sit back and reconstruct our investment into health care system.
“Right now, there is provision of one per cent from the consolidated revenue fund which goes into basic health care provision fund. We are doing good but not as we ought to. The Federal Government is doing a lot.
“Right now, nobody can go out to seek medical attention. This is the right moment to address this issue. Nobody ever thought you could not go out to seek medical attention but we are all confined here now.”
