Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, has called on the media to strengthen its efforts in disseminating information to ensure proper and effective accountability of three tiers of government on issues of primary and tertiary healthcare in particular and general health reform initiatives.
This was contained in a communiqué issued after a one day media round table on the importance of primary health care in Nigeria organised by CISLAC on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to the communiqué signed by CISLAC’s Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Musa, CISLAC ‘s Coordinator, Dr. Aminu Magashi Garba and Legal Office, Mr. Maxwell Kadiri , the participants observed that government on several occasions made commitments to invest in human capital development; reduce maternal death from 550 per 100,000 live births, to 250 per 100,000 live-births by 2015; raise per capita spending to at least 32 percent; utilise 2 percent of revenue accruing to the Consolidated revenue fund, to fund health sector developments and several other commitments were yet to be implemented.
They also said that National health Bill, recently passed a second time, by both Chambers of the National Assembly, is yet to receive presidential assent despite its arriving at the presidency on the 28th October this year.
Other observations in the communiqué include; Nigeria contributing 14 percent of the global burden on maternal deaths and records 576 deaths per 100,000 live births, whilst infant mortality rate, estimated at 69 per 1000 live births, adding that, this remains unacceptable and reduces country’s chances of meeting Millennium Development Goal 4; that generally, the media cannot and does not defined civil society’s media strategies for fostering greater publicity of issues that are considered to be of interest to them, rather, they can only be guided by what the CSO’s put forward as part of their media strategy.
↧
CISLAC seeks media support on primary, tertiary healthcare issues
↧