The Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Lanre Tejuosho, has decried budgetary allocation to health sector, saying it was disproportionate in comparison to its mandate.
 
He said that the ministry’s allocation had continued to “show no break in gloomy pattern over the years”.
 
Mr. Tejuosho stated this on Wednesday at a news briefing in Abuja and said that “in the 2017 Capital Budget of N2.24 trillion, the health sector was allocated N51 billion (representing 2.78per cent).”
 
According to him, Nigeria is spending over one billion dollars (about N305.25 billion) annually on medical treatment abroad and such external expenditure is not good for the nation’s economy.
 
He said that in spite of being a signatory to the 2001 African Union Abuja Declaration, Nigeria had not met with the minimum requirement of allocating 15 per cent of the total annual budget to health.
 
“Shedding the toga of the past, 2017 budget presents a unique opportunity for us to enhance and develop our health sector,” he said.
 
The lawmaker noted that the 8th Senate was committed to improving health conditions, health standards and service delivery through realistic appropriation and judicious utilisation driven by legislative oversight.
 
He also decried the high poverty rate as well as infant and maternal mortality rates in the country.
 
“The 2015 World Health Organisation (WHO) says that approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and child-birth every day.
 
“A high percentage of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries, including Nigeria.
 
“More specifically, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 children under five years and 145 women of child-bearing age.
 
“This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under-five and maternal mortality rate in the world,” he said.
 
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