Nigerians need to be healthier to reduce healthcare costs - minister
Prof. Muhammad Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, asserts that promoting health among Nigerians will undoubtedly lower the cost of healthcare in the nation.
This was said by Pate at the Third National Health Promotion Conference and Nigeria's first Health Promotion Day, which took place in Abuja on October 29, 2024.
He exhorted Nigerians to take control of their health by making educated lifestyle decisions that will prevent preventable diseases.
"Let's produce health because we have an estimated 230 million Nigerians," the don stated. Some of them are ill and will require medical attention in a hospital. Some people are ill, but they are not yet aware of it. However, most Nigerians are in good health. How can we ensure their long-term health? Our healthcare system will cost less if we keep them healthier. We make use of the resources at our disposal to help the critically ill.
"In order to accomplish that, we are growing the infrastructure. By concentrating on health promotion, we can contribute to the health of a larger portion of the nation's population. That's the point of this, and I want to urge everyone to move in that direction.”
Pate also said that despite the challenges in the country, Nigeria was on the move towards making a healthier nation possible.
He called for the uptake of hand washing, sanitation, basic hygiene, food safety and healthy lifestyle choices to prevent non-communicable diseases.
He said, “We are activating a national movement to make Nigeria healthier. It goes beyond just the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare; it goes beyond the Federal Government to the state governments and what they are doing, to private sectors, civil society, to media, and everyone else.
“So today as we celebrate the first National Health Promotion Day, we are putting a stake on the ground, that this movement to make Nigeria healthier, to produce health for all Nigerians is a reality, and that we are committing ourselves to move forward, to take those steps to improve the stock of health, to prevent diseases that can be prevented, whether reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health issues, by taking preventive steps, whether it’s hand washing, sanitation, basic hygiene, whether it’s food safety, whether it’s preventing non-communicable diseases, through lifestyle choices.”
According to the Minister, 10 million Nigerian people are expected to get their blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol checked as part of the ongoing "Know Your Numbers, Control Your Numbers" program, which is being led by the Commissioners of Health in each of the 36 states.
He went on to say that these checks will allow them to control such numbers by taking corrective action.
The don urged everyone to work together to make Nigerians healthier and wealthier.
The Minister also presented awards to national champions and ambassadors for health promotion and announced their nomination.
On behalf of the 36 state governors, he proposed AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the governor of Kwara State, to be the ambassador for national health promotion.
Additionally, he proposed the Senate President, the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, the Speaker and other ministers as ambassadors on health promotion.
Pate also nominated the 36 health commissioners as national champions of health promotion and the 774 Local Government Chairmen as champions of health promotion.
“It is all of us that will join hands to make Nigeria healthier. For those who are suffering from kidney disease, from diabetes, sometimes these diseases take several years before you get to where they get complicated.
“We want to reposition the Ministry of Health to be truly a Ministry of Health, not a Ministry of Disease or Ministry of Treating Sickness because health is something that you can produce. You can produce it by eating well, proper hygiene, checking your numbers, taking care of your health, screening against diseases and getting them treated,” he said.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Nigerian Health Commissioners’ Forum and the Ekiti State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani, commended the partnership between FG and the states to ensure that all Nigerians had access to good quality care.
"When you know it, it's also important that you're able to control those numbers, particularly for hypertension and diabetes, two of the major silent killers that we have in Nigeria," he said, urging Nigerians to take part in the ongoing "Know Your Numbers, Control Your Numbers" screening.
October 28 marked the start of the "Project 10 Million-Know Your Numbers, Control Your Numbers" campaign, which will run throughout many federation states until November 3, 2024.
