| Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole |
The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to achieving universal health coverage in the country in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030.
Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole stated this while delivering a lecture in honour of Emeritus Prof. Kelsey Atangamuerimo Harrison at the University of Port Harcourt yesterday.
The minister, who paid glowing tribute to Harrison for his immense contributions to the development of the nation’s health sector, noted that one of the priority objectives of the SDG–UHC is to engender equity in access to health.
He pointed out that lessons learned over the years have shown that countries that attained UHC, strategically focused on covering financing and service provision gaps.
Adewole said: “Improvements in health outcomes have been slow over the last decade and two-thirds of the burden of disease remains illnesses affecting mothers and children.
“Nigeria has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world at 576 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.6 times the global average. This is almost the same as in the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) (545 deaths per 100,000).”