By Paul Effiong, Abuja
House of Representatives Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria Control has called on the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammed Pate, to fine-tune measures through which HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other dreaded diseases would be prevented.
Chairman of the Committee, Amobi Ogah made the appeal on Thursday during an interactive forum organised by his panel with the minister and his management team.
In his opening remarks, Ogah commended the coordinating minister for his measures towards addressing the health challenges of Nigerians, but called for engagement of all stakeholders.
He explained that after the signing and passage of the 2025 Appropriation Act by President Bola Tinubu, the Ministry of Health had been up and doing to ensure that all its mandates are delivered.
“At a joint session, we agreed with your ministry on the priority areas that need critical attention in its budget and now that the 2025 budget has been passed, it is important that the House committee be on the same page with the minister and the ministry,” Ogah said.
According to the lawmaker, “We have always argued for increased domestic funding and less dependence on foreign funding for our health system and as we are all aware of the withdrawal of financial support by the US government towards funding for African health systems. The Nigerian government has equally risen to the occasion by allocating more resources to the fight against communicable diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, thus making the decision of the US government appear as a blessing in disguise.”
Reacting, Professor Pate informed the committee that the federal government had subsidised all malaria drugs,
He, however, lamented that the N40 billion appropriated for malaria was grossly inadequate, stressing that the federal government had made childhood vaccine free across all hospitals.
While urging for legislative support to empower local technical assistance, the minister observed that such support would help towards the promotion of indigenous concepts and projects.
