The Future of Health Conference: Investing in Nigeria’s Future
Group photo after the second-panel session at the Future of Health Conference in Abuja.Image Credit: Nigeria Health Watch by Adetayo Adetokun The Future of Health Conference is an annual conference hosted by Nigeria Health Watch. The conference aims to provide a visible platform for critical stakeholders in healthcare, finance, politics, and other allied sectors to discuss the factors that influence Nigeria’s health policies; how political, social, and economic factors shape individual and population health outcomes; health service development within the economic and political context; and how to create a national health service that meets the needs of all Nigerians. The 2022 theme was “The Political Economy of Health: Investing in Nigeria’s Future”. We attended the conference and shared crucial discussions about health and the investments in this sector that are required to improve the overall health, well-being, and productivity of Nigerians. We believe that healthcare is a human right, and everyone should have access to good healthcare and universal coverage. We also recognize the role good healthcare plays in the development of African communities. The government of every country has a huge role to play in ensuring that every citizen of their country has access to good healthcare. This conference allowed us to improve our knowledge of ways to reduce the number of deaths in the communities that are hardly reached with quality and sustainable healthcare. This conference also spotlighted one of the main issues we are committed to ending – maternal and pediatric health. In many communities, women and children are often at the bottom of the economic chain, and it is difficult for them to access the healthcare services they require. There were so many moments at the conference that resonated with our work and the actions we hoped to take. Welcome Address Vivianne Ihekweazu, Managing Director of Nigeria Health WatchImage Credit: Nigeria Health Watch The welcome address was delivered by Vivianne Ihekweazu, the Managing Director of Nigeria Health Watch. In her address, she stated that the Future of Health conference was started to reinforce the importance of universal health coverage. She mentioned the importance of government and political leaders’ intervention in the healthcare ecosystem. She reminded citizens that we are saddled with the responsibility of ensuring our political leaders are held accountable for the availability of healthcare infrastructure and its proper management. Keynote Speech Professor Olumide Ayodele during his keynote speech.Image Credit: Nigeria Health Watch The keynote speech was delivered by Professor Olumide Ayodele on behalf of Ben Akawueze, the Managing Director of the Budget Office of the Federal Government of Nigeria. He spoke about the importance of monitoring the financial expenditure allocated to each government project. “It is not the amount of money that is being spent. But, its impact”, he said. He expounded on the importance of advocacy in the healthcare financing sector and why we need more people to look into how budgets are allocated and utilized. On healthcare financing, he emphasized that it is the responsibility of both government and sub-national entities to ensure that healthcare is financed, as the government can only finance some of the healthcare projects due to the low revenue generated. After this keynote session, there were three-panel sessions: The Economy of Health — the economic cost of poor health prioritization and the economic benefits of prioritizing health Politics and Health — charting a course of action to set Nigeria on course for achieving UHC. Political Leadership in Health — the impact of leadership on healthcare at the sub-national level. First-panel session: The Economy of Health — the economic cost of poor health prioritization and the economic benefits of prioritizing health. The first-panel session had Prof. Obinna Onwujekwe, a Member of the European Commission-funded Eval-Health project fr. Sarah Alade, Special Adviser to the Nigerian President on Finance and Economy; Dr. Onoriode Ezire, Se; or Health Specialist, at World Bank Nigeria; Dr. Ola Brown, Founder, Flying Doctors Incorporated; and Dr. Habib Sadauki, National President, Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Nigeria. Dr. Ola Brown making her points during the first-panel session.Image Credit: Nigeria Health Watch Dr. Ola Brown spoke about why young people leave the country in their thousands. She said the lack of good healthcare infrastructure and viable opportunities, as well as the persistent insecurity in the country, were some of the reasons young people left the country. She believes that when healthcare problems in Nigeria are solved, all other problems will be easily solved. Dr. Sarah Alade making her points during the first-panel session.Image Credit: Nigeria Health Watch Dr. Sarah Alade pointed out that healthcare is a pillar for development in every country, and we cannot mention healthcare without considering sustainable development goals. She hopes the government and private entities will continue to donate to healthcare development in the coming years. Dr. Habib Sadauki sharing his thoughts during the first-panel session.Image Credit: Nigeria Health Watch Dr. Habib Sadauki articulated the importance of investing in family planning and women’s health in general. He said that the low rate of accessibility to family planning for Nigerian women has affected our economy greatly as many families continue to give birth to more children than they can cater for. “For every dollar invested in family planning, there is a return of three dollars.” This has been proven across many countries and regions. Dr. Onoriode Ezire sharing his thoughts during the first-panel session.Image Credit: Nigeria Health Watch Dr. Onoriode Ezire called the audience to reflect on the deplorable state of healthcare in Nigeria. He said the reason we have very terrible healthcare can easily be traced to the low Gross Domestic Product in Nigeria, which is one of the lowest in Africa. “Due to this low GDP, Nigeria has one of the highest mortality rates in Africa.” He emphasized that the best way to improve healthcare in Nigeria is to ensure that all hands are on deck. Prof. Obinna Onwujekwe sharing his thoughts during the first-panel session.Image Credit: Nigeria Health Watch Prof. Obinna Onwujekwe spoke about the importance of an immaculate system of governance where everything is plain and fair so citizens can adequately monitor the activities of the government and
