Ali Pate: Healthcare isn’t solely FG’s responsibility — states, LGs have roles to play

Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, says state and local governments have important roles to play in improving the nation’s health sector.

Pate spoke on Thursday at an interactive session with the house of representatives committee on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Delivering his address, Amobi Ogah, chairman of the committee, said the country’s malaria programme is in critical condition and urgently needs revitalisation.

“Dear coordinating minister, I must say with all due respect, we are highly disappointed with the malaria programme in Nigeria. It appears as if the programme is in a coma and needs ICU to be resuscitated,” Ogah said.

“Yet many of our people both in urban and rural centres continue to be impoverished as a result of the malaria epidemic, which has become the biggest source of out-of-pocket expenditure of our populace.

“I have called for malaria treatment to be made free at primary healthcare centres in Nigeria to ease the burden of malaria in our country and for the subsidisation of basic malaria drugs and consumables.

“We must work together to ensure we get it right and rid our country of all public health threats by 2030.”

Responding, Pate said healthcare is the collective responsibility of all levels of government.

He said Lagos is making significant strides in the fight against malaria and is on the verge of eradicating the disease.

The minister said other states should follow the example of the south-west state.

“Health is a responsibility of the federal government, states and local governments. No level of government is absolved from the responsibility of contributing to health,” he said.

“All levels of government, whether it is on malaria, HIV, tuberculosis or primary healthcare. All levels of government would have to pull their weight.

“I also urge our state houses of assembly, our elected local government officials, to weigh in because it is the three levels of government that would make this health system to be transformed in the direction that the president has laid out which is to build the human capital that would see to the growth and development of the country.”

Pate said the federal government is increasing healthcare funding following the withdrawal of international support, including from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).