Hot Source• Faults exorbitant medical bills in Nigeria
Kasim Sumaina in Abuja
The Minister of Health, Prof. Ali Pate, has called for collaboration with the Gates Foundation and other partners to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.
Pate said that non-communicable diseases claim the lives of Nigerians between the ages of 30 and 50 every year, with roughly 684,000 deaths recorded yearly.
Speaking at the weekend in Abuja during the Gates Foundation CEO Roundtable Forum on the burden of Non-Communicable Diseases, the minister highlighted the alarming statistics, stating that NCDs like diabetes and hypertension contribute to more deaths among Nigerians than any other cause.
The minister emphasised the need for partners to scale collaboration in helping the country reach its goals to reduce the NCD burden.
Explaining the financial burden on the country, Pate opined that saving lives in Nigeria is becoming increasingly costly, with over one million Nigerians forced into poverty every year due to exorbitant medical bills.
He stressed that medical bills cannot be reduced without subsidising the cost of treatment, particularly for communicable and non-communicable diseases.
While calling on the Gates Foundation and other partners to assist in improving Nigeria’s health outcomes, he emphasised the need for partners to scale collaboration in helping the country reach its goals to reduce non communicable diseases.
“Imagine you work with us within this period for diabetes and hypertension and other conditions of non-communicable diseases to get resolved, Nigeria will begin to sniff relief in its health sector,” Pate said.
Speaking in similar vein, the Gates Foundation’s Country Director, Uche Amaonwu, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to contributing to Nigeria’s health system.
Amaonwu stressed that the growing health burden was a wake-up call that demanded durable change even as he emphasised the need for coordinated support and co-investments in health systems to break the cycle of poverty and ill health.
According to him, “Convenings like this are important to break that cycle, and it requires us to treat access to health as a foundation of prosperity.”
The post Pate Calls for Collaboration to Combat Non-Communicable Diseases appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.
