FEC Approves N6.07trn For Five-Year National Health Plan

A  new five-year National Health Strategic Plan 2 which is expected to gulp the sum of N6.07trn, have been approved by the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday.

In the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, presided over the weekly executive meeting.

President Buhari is presently attending a summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which drew African leaders and entrepreneurs.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, while briefing the newsmen after the FEC meeting in the Presidential Villa, revealed that the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory will be partakers of the strategy.

.According to him, the previous Plan (1) covered 2010 to 2015, while the new Plan (2) will cover 2018 to 2022.

The minister assured that a 31 per cent reduction in maternal mortality would be achieved if the strategy is faithful implemented and judiciously funded.

He said, “The entire projects meant for over five years will cost us over N6.071 trillion and we believe that if this funding is done, if the plans are implemented faithfully, we will achieve a 31 per cent reduction in maternal mortality.

“We will achieve 33 per cent reduction in horizontal mortality and we will achieve under five percent mortality reduction of 29 per cent.

“We are quite confident that this plan will usher Nigeria into a new era, and council in its wisdom, approved this plan for implementation. So, the next thing now will be to ask the states to commence implementation.

“Federal will commence, and we will go to NEC and Governors’ Forum to secure the buy-in of the governors so that this plan can be faithfully implemented.”

He said the new Plan 2 had been re-engineered to cater for the failings of the Plan 1 which he noted was only able to achieve about two of its 52 targets.