In an exclusive interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on his two-year anniversary in office, Adetifa underscores the vital need for dedicated funding to bolster health security capabilities.

He emphasizes the importance of strengthening subnational support, considering Nigeria’s federated structure.

Adetifa emphasizes the significance of prioritizing health, encompassing human resources, equipment, training, and quality systems.

He highlights the role of political leadership in increasing funding for health, pointing to state governments like Lagos, Kano, and Gombe, which have already allocated budgets for emergency preparedness and response.

Additionally, Adetifa stresses the importance of continuous surveillance and monitoring to address diseases such as Lassa fever, particularly as the country approaches the November season.

He acknowledges the challenges of brain drain within the public health sector, attributing them in part to inadequate remuneration for public service positions and underscores the necessity of collective efforts from government and the public to address healthcare challenges.

Addressing a longstanding issue where hospitals have been known to demand police reports from victims of gunshot wounds and accidents before administering treatment, Pate expressed his concerns during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

Pate disclosed that the Federal Government has issued a directive to all hospitals, emphasizing that saving lives must be the foremost concern before any other demands or formalities.

He stressed that it is crucial to avoid situations where patients, in dire need of immediate medical attention, lose their lives due to bureaucratic procedures.

“Life first and we have reemphasised that. All our hospitals I believe are doing that. No person should come with an emergency, or life-threatening challenge and be made to lose their life while awaiting police report,” said Pate.

The Health Minister further explained that the Federal Government expects all states across the nation to adhere to this directive in their respective hospitals.

Moreover, he underscored that private hospitals also share the responsibility of putting saving lives as their top priority, as it is a fundamental principle of healthcare practice.

Pate also discussed the Federal Government’s commitment to expanding health insurance across the country, following the recent launch of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).

He emphasized the critical importance of ensuring access to affordable and high-quality healthcare for all Nigerians, highlighting that this is a crucial step toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Francis Ukwuije, Technical Officer, Health Financing, WHO, Nigeria, stated this in Abuja on Wednesday when a delegation of the first WHO health financing mission in Nigeria visited the management of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).

He assured that efforts were on towards implementing compulsory health insurance in Nigeria, saying that they were important in advancing the development of the country.

Mohammed Sambo, the Chief Executive Officer, NHIA, opined that countries must provide financial risk protection for their people through health insurance in order to attain universal health coverage.

Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who also received the WHO’s team, explained that an estimated 83 million vulnerable Nigerians would benefit from universal health coverage programmes to make quality healthcare service affordable and accessible.

The passage of the bill during plenary, followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Health (Tertiary and Secondary).

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe (Kwara Central), in his presentation, said upon establishment, the Board would determine the standards of knowledge and skills to be attained by persons seeking to become members of the profession of Health Education.

He added that it would also establish and maintain a register of persons registered under the bill as members of the profession, and conduct examinations leading to the award of certificates or diplomas as may be prescribed by the Board.

He explained further that the passage of the bill into law would ensure that the practice of Health Education in Nigeria is regulated.

According to the lawmaker, the Board would facilitate advanced Healthcare delivery in the country through research, innovation, training and development of the health sector.

According to Dr Adebusoye in an interview with newsmen on Thursday, he said drugs are chemicals and it should not be taken lightly because when abused, they can cause great damage to the human system and could endanger lives.

Dr Adebusoye said that the abuse of paracetamol could cause huge damage to the liver and this can lead to acute liver injury that could result in liver failure which cannot be managed except by a liver transplant.

He equally stated that paracetamol should never be used as a meat tenderizer asides from its clinical use and the specified dosage as its abuse was highly detrimental to health.

He also said that drugs should be stored properly in cool places with temperatures not above 25 degrees Celsius.

He said if drugs were not properly stored and left in places with high temperatures, the act could damage the content of the drugs, making it less potent.

“And with the possibility of chemical reactions that could be dangerous and harmful, turning the drug from a useful substance to a harmful one,”  he said.

Dr Adebusoye said that he learned that some food vendors make use of paracetamol tablets to tenderize tough meat. This, he said was harmful to human health.

He advised that people should desist from the abuse of drugs to avoid having health issues.