Conclusions and prescriptions
1). All budgeted federal projects must be fully implemented, monitored and evaluated. Follow-up policies and projects must be designed and considered before the expiration or conclusion of ongoing projects;
3). There should be at least one water borehole per ward in the country and this is easily realizable. In the alternative a good water system to effectively serve a cluster of villages would serve the same purpose;
4). The goal of a Primary Healthcare Centre per ward in the federation is still feasible and must be pursued to take healthcare delivery to the people. These should be fully managed by the local government and community;
5). Local and State governments must step up sanitation and environmental campaigns. The era of Sanitary Inspectors should be reintroduced to ensure full compliance with sanitary and health regulations;
6). Special attention must be paid to the health needs of women, children and the aged who are often the most vulnerable and neglected segments in the country; and
7). Access to basic health facilities should be liberalized and democratized. Fees must not be charged to see physicians and for emergencies and for the low income, access to health care should be free.
Above all, the constitutional provision on the right to life must be broadened and given meaning to serve as weapons for a popular campaign that will include adequate attention and investment in maternal, newborn and infant mortality levels. Communities and constituencies must be encouraged, mobilised and empower to demand the right to survival and the right to life as democratic rights.
[1]Friday Okonofua, “Maternal and Child Health in Nigeria,” Mimeo, College of Medical Sciences, University of Benin, n.d.
[2] Ibid.
[3] ibid
[4] ibid