FG advocates equity to address disparity in healthcare system 

The federal government will continue to advocate for equity to address the disparity challenge in healthcare delivery systems,

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, has said.

He said Thursday during the African Bar Association Medical Committee Annual Conference in Abuja, that there is need to  strengthen policies and practices that ensure equitable access to healthcare services, particularly for marginalised and vulnerable populations and bring healthcare closer to the community.

Dr Salako said the gathering of legal minds cum healthcare professionals is a pointer to the shared responsibility in ensuring that healthcare in Africa is not only available and effective but also grounded in the highest standard of ethics and legality.

The minister  stated that health is not just a product that is available to only those who can afford it, neither is healthcare just a service for profit, but a matter of fundamental human right that should be guaranteed by government.

“It is the cornerstone of human dignity, societal progress, and economic and human capital development,” he said.

Dr Salako added that Africa’s healthcare systems are as diverse as our cultures and histories. While we have made remarkable strides in improving access to healthcare, we are still faced with systemic issues such as inadequate infrastructure, limited resources, and inequitable distribution of services. 

“We must also foster collaboration, bringing health workers, lawyers, policymakers, ethicists and civil society to work together to create a healthcare system that is both legally sound and ethically grounded.

He stated that there is the need to ensure transparency and accountability in order to build public trust.

“The mechanisms for monitoring and addressing unethical practices, whether they occur in public or private healthcare settings, must be robust and alive to preventive and sanction ethical abuses,” he said.