With the drastic reduction in the 2017 Lagos state health budget, stakeholders in the sector feared that the achievements recorded so far in the Lagos state health sector would be lost. ODIRI UCHENUNU writes.The 2017 Lagos state budget which was tagged the The Golden Jubilee Budget because it coincides with the states 50th anniversary, has indeed attracted a lot of praises as well as condemnation.Though, the 2017 budget was increased by N150 billion from the 2016 budget and it is the biggest budget ever for any state of the federation according to some Lagosians who expressed shock over the drastic reduction in the amount appropriated for the health sector.Though the state government promised to fully implement the Medical Health Insurance Scheme and deploy e-Health/ e-insurance Health Service solutions, and then complete the on-going upgrading and extension work in the State General Hospitals and Ayinke House in Ikeja, stakeholders still believe that the reduction will cause more harm than good.It would be recalled that the Lagos state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, in December, presented the 2017 Lagos state budget proposal of N813 billion to the state House of Assembly.Although the entire budget increased by N150 billion when compared to the 2016 budget of N662.6 billion, the health budget reduced from N64 billion which represents 9.76 percent of the total budget in 2016, to N57.29 billion, representing 7.05 percent in 2017.Comparing this to other sectors, the breakdown of the 2017 budget earmarked N205.85 billion for General Public Services representing 25.32 percent of the budget; N36.43 billion to Public Order and Safety, representing 4.48 percent; Economic Affairs received a lion share of N295.84 billion representing 36.39 percent; Environment got N56.31 billion, representing 6.93 percent; Health got N57.29 billion, representing 7.05 percent and Education got N92.4 billion representing 11.37 percent of the budget.Stakeholders in the health sector who spoke with LEADERSHIP, expressed disappointment over the sharp decrease in the amount appropriated for health sector in the 2017 Lagos State budget proposal while calling on the state government to urgently review the budget.This, they said, is a far cry from the targeted 15 percent health budget pledge made in 2001 by African heads of States.Project Manager, Community Health Information Education Forum (CHIEF), Olawale Jimoh told LEADERSHIP that the reduction in the budget could harper the achievements Lagos state have recorded so far as there will not be enough fund on ground to sustain them.Jimoh said stakeholders in the health sector would have little or no fund to work with in addressing issues manning the Lagos state health sector.He said, What will the sector work with in terms of funds to execute plans in addressing issues like maternal an newborn health in the state' The sector needs funds to execute planned and prosposed activities.He said a lot of the Primary Healthcare in Lagos state need renovation and the state government need to equip some of the PHCs, coupled with recruitment of staff that are not adequate.According to the Project Manager, the way forward, is to involve major stakeholders and the Civil Society Organisation in the planning and preparation of budget.He said, There is need for assessment of the 2017 health budget as it serves as a key in preparing the budget of such an important sector.Expressing dissatisfaction, a member of the Lagos State Civil Society Partnership, Barr. Ayo Adebusoye said, This shows that health is not being prioritized in the state especially when you contrast this with a less financially endowed state like Bauchi State which allocated a whooping 16 percent of its entire 2017 budget to the health sector.Lagos state is in need of great investment in health due to the high maternal and child mortality rate in the state and so, any reduction is something we should be concerned about.There are critical areas that needs to be budgeted for; areas that have to do with Maternal and New-born Health (MNH) and Family Planning (FP). For instance, we need an increase in FP consumable budget, to make sure it is free so that there can be an increase in uptake in order to meet the FP target blue print.Unfortunately, Lagos state still remains one of the states with high maternal and child mortality rate. Considering its large population with growing number of women and children, the state is in dire need of MNH intervention. Despite this fact, the 2017 health budget instead of increasing, got reduced, pregnant women and children still pay out-of-pocket for health care and health is definitely not free, he said.Averting these challenges, he urged Governor Ambode to fully implement the community health insurance scheme, which he said would begin in the first quarter of this year, as it will help solve the problem of high medical bills since most Lagosians pay out of pocket for health.Adebusoye also called the attention of Lagos State government to the lack of adequate midwives and qualified doctors at Lagos health facilities. This he said was based on evidence from a MNH 2016 scorecard developed by Mamaye Evidence for Action (E4A) team.His words, According to the evidence from the scorecard, there is insufficient midwives and qualified doctors at health facilities, there is also poor uptake of antenatal care before 20 weeks pregnancy as well as poor family planning uptake in the state.Based on this, Adebusoye however requested that the Ministry of Health should increase awareness and mobilize communities to increase the uptake of antenatal care before 20 weeks of pregnancy, adding that Lagos State Government should increase the availability of essential drugs for maternal and newborn babies in public health facilities in the state and ensure functional blood bank that can screen and store blood in all secondary facilities in the state.
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