&w=64&q=75)
Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election has called for urgent reforms of the health sector to improve access to quality medical care for Nigerians.
While speaking as a guest speaker at the 6th Public Lecture of the Board of Fellows, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria in Awka on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, Obi said life expectancy in Nigeria is among the lowest in the world.
The former Governor of Anambra State said even after 25 years of democratic governance, Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI) ranking remains low.
He said, “When you want to measure this Human Development Index, the most critical measure number one is Health — life expectancy.
“Life expectancy as we know today in Nigeria is among the lowest in the world. We are about 65 years, compared to India at about 70, Bangladesh at about 72, Egypt at about 71, and the Philippines at about 70.”
The ex-governor also tackled the Federal Government over its approach to healthcare.
“We have a system that does not understand what they are supposed to do to help our citizens,” he said.
He, therefore, called for a complete overhaul of the system, stressing that the country needed a committed and compassionate government to rejig the health sector.
Proffering solutions to the problem, Obi called for investments in critical areas of healthcare and support for local drug manufacturers.
Obi also advised the government to come up with affordable insurance schemes and initiatives that would pull Nigerians out of poverty.