The media and Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria have been charged to step up advocacy on implementation of National Health Act (NHA) for the benefit of the citizenry.
The Federal Team Leader of the Department for International Development’s Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn (DFID-PERL), Mr Rommy Mom gave the charge at a roundtable on implementation of NHA on Thursday.
He urged the media and CSOs to intensify efforts on advocacy for the implementation of NHA so as to guarantee good healthcare delivery for the general populace.
Rommy said the roundtable was organized to furnish journalists and members of CSOs on issues around NHA so that they would have a fair idea of the issues and be able to pass the message to larger people and also called the attention of government to issues when necessary.
In his presentation, a Health Communication Specialist, Dr Dale Ogunbayo highlighted some of the components of NHA and the factors constraining its implementation.
He said the NHA provides that a minimum of one percent of consolidated federal government revenue and contributions from donor grants must be set aside to fund Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).
He urged journalists and members of CSOs to get familiar with the provisions of the NHA so as to enable them report it effectively and inform the people appropriately.
