Author:Ali Pate, a ministerial nominee, says Nigeria must prioritise investment in health and encourage domestic production of vaccines.the chief executive officer of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Pati, a former minister of state for health, is an American board-certified medical doctor in both internal medicine and infectious diseases.
He said the government must take advantage of the economic value of health and stop importing drugs and medical appliances that could be produced in the country with proper investment.How do we prioritise the health of our people except through the resource we allocate to it? Financing is the core of prioritising health in Nigeria. There is a governance side and there is a financing side,” he said.“The prioritisation of health in Nigeria has been suboptimal.
“The Niger Republic has fewer resources than us but they allocated more than double what we allocated in terms of their health spending revenue to their GDP. That’s an indication of prioritisation. “It is unfortunate that part of this country has the worst immunisation in the world. So, I’m pleading that going forward, we prioritise investment in health and invest in the things that can prevent diseases and protect our children.