By Iliya Kure
Executive Secretary of Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON), Emmanuel Abanida has called on states in Nigeria that are yet to sign the Primary Healthcare Under One Roof (PHCUOR) into law to do so, in order to fastrack healthcare delivery in their domain.
He said there was no way Nigerians would lead better lives without adequate provisions which addresses their wellbeing.
Abanida was speaking in Abuja at the opening of a Health budget tracking workshop for selected civil society organisations (CSOs) drawn from Kaduna and Katsina states.
HERFON has been working with the participating CSOs in strengthening Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) in Kaduna and Katsina states, under a USAID supported project called Strengthening Advocacy and Civic Engagement (SACE).
According to Abanida, HERFON is also working with the CSOs to provide supportive supervision to 8 WDCs in the two states, as well as conducting campaigns on Minimum Service Package of health services.
“At a time the world is talking about Universal Health Coverage, there is no better time than now for government and CSOs to work towards ensuring access to healthcare at every level,” says Abanida.
He described budget tracking as a key activity needed to move the states and Nigeria forward, urging CSOs to always engage government when necessary.
In a presentation, the Trainer, Lawal Abubakar, enjoined CSOs to take interest in governance and be involved in supporting government institutions to deliver on their mandate.
He tasked Nigerian government to be transparent in its policy formulation, as well as be accountable in its actions to ensure good governance.
“For government to be termed accountable and transparent, it must involve citizens in the formulation of its policies, including the budget process.
“Budget is the most important document after the constitution, this is because it guides government spending, and any amount spent outside the budget is a violation of the law.
“For every budget, there must be community participation, and for a budget to be termed transparent, the document must be made available to the public.
“Of recent, states like Kaduna have made their budget online, even though the state has not reached perfection, they have taken a step towards transparency,” he said.
The workshop seeks to strengthen capacity of participants on how to analyse and track budget, as well as analyse the approved 2017 budgets of Kaduna and Katsina states, with a focus on the MNCH component.
