The role of Governance in Delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 4 was the topic in focus at the Roundtable conference organised by DAI, Global Development Company in Nigeria recently in Abuja.
The purpose of the conference was to x-ray how relevant government authorities were tackling different development challenges in the country particularly as it concerned health and education in line with the SDGs 3 and 4.
Goal 3 aims at ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all by the year 2030 while Goal 4 aims at ensuring inclusive and equitable education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Taking turns to discuss the topic at the panel were the Honourable Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Princess Adejoke Orelope- Adefulire, represented by the SDGs, Director(Sectors), Yahaza Hamza.
Speaking on SDG 3, the Health Minister assured that better health for all was achievable in that Nigeria was blessed with a large stock of skilled human resources and accessible standard of healthcare facilities across the country.
He however cited the imbalance in the distribution of the human resources, poor funding of the sector by State’s Government, poor remuneration of healthcare workers in local communities and poor working environment, as some of the challenges faced by the sector.
Proffering solutions, the Minister called on State Governors to allocate more resources to the health sector, train community based health workers and post them to their home communities. In his words, “if skilled healthcare workers were properly remunerated and posted to very conducive working environment, most health professionals would be engaged and the current brain- drain experienced in the sector will stop” the Minister stressed.
He further called on relevant authorities on labour matters to change the reward system, implement the law of No- Work; No- Pay and health facilities that went on strike should not be funded. This, the Minister said were the right measures to adopt in curbing strike actions in the sector.
On the current Lassa Fever scorch in the country, Professor Adewole informed that Lassa fever is a disease of the environment thus the only way to manage the cases were to track all contacts early, increase the level of awareness, diagnose diseases before treatment and protective kits must be worn by health workers when on duty.
DAI company works to meet the critical service delivery needs of the Nigerian populace, improve domestic resource mobilization at state and local government level, improved and increased access to maternal and child health services in Northern Nigeria among others.
