By; BALA B. BITRUS, Minna.
Piqued by the increasing cases of maternal and infants’ mobidity in the state, the Niger state chapter of the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Nigeria, (FOMWAN) has again made a passionate appeal to the present administration in the state to increase budgetary allocations for the health sector in the state in the current fiscal year to arrest the development.
Niger state has the third highest cases of infant and maternal mobidities in the North Central states according to available statistics.
The FOMWAN took its advocacy for increased budgetary allocation to the state Ministry of Budget as a pressure group to add it’s voice to the call on government to end increasing cases of maternal and child related deaths by ensuring adequate funding to the health sector in the 2017 budget provision.The association posited that only an increased budgetary provision for the health sector would ensure that more qualified hands were hired while existing medical facilities, drugs and medications would be sourced to stuff the healthcare system for better service delivery.
The leadership of the association therefore urged the state government to do what was necessary to reduce the scourge of Pneumonia and Diarrhea related deaths in parts of the state in the 2017 fiscal year.
The team leader of the state’s FOMWAN, Dr. Halima Shehu, Wednesday made the call when she led executive members of the association on an advocacy visit to the state Ministry of Budget and Planning Commission where they told the Commissioner that the bane of healthcare delivery sector in the state have been majorly the issue of poor and inadequate funding which was responsible for the recurring deaths of women and small children across the state.
The association lamented that available statistics shows that Niger state has the third highest cases of mortality resulting from of infantile Pneumonia and diarrhea in the North Central states of Nigeria.
Dr. Halima Shehu revealed that research has shown that the two child killer diseases were responsible for at least 24% of all deaths amongst children in Niger state.
Dr. Halima commended the state government for increasing the sectoral allocation to the health from 8% in 2016 to 11% in proposed 2017 budget. She noted that the slight increase would lead to improved health care delivery even as she pleaded for more funding to the health sector.
She stressed that the care of mothers and children need proper funding therefore according to her more should be done to save more lives of women and children across the state.
The team leader also appealed to the state legislators to increase the budgetary allocation to health before passing the 2017 budget as a way of strengthening routine Immunization programmes and other outreach programmes of the health ministry.
She said timely release of funds budgeted for the health ministry will guarantee timely release of monies needed by the relevant departments to purchase drugs medications and other consumables for patients.
Niger state Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Alhaji Mohammed Nda told the FOMWAN executives that the state’ Ministry of Health was one of the priority areas of the present administration in the state.
He assured the visiting FOMWAN members that his Ministry would ensure speedy release of funds once the budget was approved and monies made available.
The Commissioner was represented by the Director, Local Government, Planning and Budget in the Ministry, Aliyu Idris.
He said as “custodian of the state’s budget, we will do our best to ensure that funds are released to the health sector because of of critical position. We will address the issues there properly” he assured.
