By SOLA OGUNDIPE
Health will feature prominently on the list of palliatives to emerge next year from  the proposed fuel subsidy removal by Federal government.

Also, when the National Health Bill eventually becomes law, it is expected to  bring additional funding to the tune of N55 billion to the health sector.

Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu who made these revelations last week in Calabar, Cross River State, during a conference tagged “Improving Financial Access to Health Services for the Poor in Nigeria” observed that health constitutes three of five  safety nets to  emanate from the  fuel subsidy removal being contemplated by  government.

Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu.

In a chat with Good Health Weekly, Chukwu, said:  “We are talking of safety nets and one of this is to provide maternal health  through the conditional cash transfer, where we encourage mothers to bring their children and husbands to health facilities for treatment and when they do that ,we encourage them through small scale empowerment.

“The second safety net is on improved  school feeding, because  nutrition is a national problem and in the effort to improve Millennium Development Goal 4, nutrition must be improved.

“We need to subsidise and supplement school children nutrition  because  it has been proved that if children don’t have good nutrition, their brains will not develop optimally and since they are going to rule this country in future, then they must be well fed now. Third is the insurance for maternal health. These are the three, so health will be addressed. Other safety nets are for  education,the microcredit scheme and transportation.”

On the National Health Bill, Chukwu said it was an effort to provide something  that would enable health care access by the less privileged. “Whatever we are thinking must be sustainable and how we can develop taxation system in the country.

Federal government is ensuring that all those who should pay tax are doing so, we have started on that through the Federal Inland Revenue Service. If we get that right, then we will come down to others.” He said the option of pure taxation was feasible in providing health coverage  even without the formal insurance scheme currently in place.

“Once the National Health Bill becomes law, it would bring additional funds to the health sector. This is to be spent at the  level of primary healthcare because it will establish what will be known as the National Primary Healthcare Development Fund,  funded through the Federal-owned share of the Federation account which will pay 5 percent

“It is not so much money, but would anount to  about N50-55 billion adding   about 2 percent extra funding to health from the Federation account.” He said going by the 2011 budget, it means the health sector may enjoy 7.5 percent which will be an improvement on what  currently prevails. “It is not up to the 15 percent people are agitating for but will be an improvement.”