Yemi Obafemi
The federal government has announced efforts to reduce reliance on external assistance for the country’s healthcare system.
The Trump administration ordered the closure of USAID, leaving many countries, particularly in Africa, in uncertainty and shocking thousands who rely on the agency’s humanitarian efforts.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Hard Copy programme aired on Friday, The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Ali Pate said the country can provide for its citizens’ healthcare needs despite the departure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Pate said:“So for us, we are not complaining. We are full of appreciation to the US government for the contribution they have made,”
“The American people have contributed to taking care of more than 1.3 million Nigerians on antiretroviral therapies, tuberculosis, malaria, and maternal and child health conditions.
“The change in US government policy is the determination of the American people. We can’t complain. What we have determined is that we are primarily responsible for the health of our population.
He said the government will cope with the new policy and is working “towards exiting the dependency on external assistance” for healthcare in the country.
“We may be a poor country, but we are a capable country, and we are determined to own up to that responsibility. If others step in and support us, we appreciate it, but we are not begging for it, and we also will live within what we have,” the minister said.
“But we have the responsibility on us as leaders to ensure that our population gets the care they need. The federal government is going to do its part.”
He stated that even before the recent US government policy, Nigeria’s leadership had been working toward self-sufficiency in healthcare provision for its citizens.
“At the end of the day, our approach long before the change in US policy has been towards increasing national ownership. Increasing domestic resources.
“Improving our healthcare value chain and producing what we use. Strengthening our resilience through surveillance laboratory systems so that we deal with infectious diseases. We never really let’s say absolved ourselves of the responsibility for taking care of Nigerians who require government support,” he said.
