The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) has re-elected its vice president, Njide Ndili, along with Dr Pamela Ajayi as president to run the affairs of the Federation for another two years
Our Correspondent reports that the duo were re-elected unopposed during the Annual General Meeting held on Friday and presided over by the Chairman of the Board of Trustee HFN, Mr. Asue Ighodalo.
Other elected officials were Mrs. Chinyere Okorocha- Partner at Jackson, Etti & Edu as Treasurer, Dr. Segun Ebitanmi- COO, Outreach Hospital as Secretary and Pharm. Abimbola O. Adebakin- Founder and CEO, Advantage Health as Public Relations Secretary.
The Annual Conference and General Meeting themed ‘Building the Healthcare of our future’, which had in attendance the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, the Chairman of the Senate’s Health Committee, Sen. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, the Governor of Sokoto State and the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Rt Hon Aminu Tambuwal, and other notable government dignitaries and high-profile stakeholders in the health sector including investors, donors, financial institutions, regulators, healthcare personnel, and Health Maintenance Organizations, HMOs.
Declaring the Conference opened, minister of health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, lauded the efforts undertaken by HFN and expressed his gratitude to the private sector for its support and the partnership it has developed with the public sector
Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Senator Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, Chairman, Senate Committee on Health gave Legislative remarks on the state of healthcare in the country.
In her welcome address, Dr. Pamela Ajayi, the newly re-elected president of HFN, highlighted the need to reposition the healthcare ecosystem in Nigeria.
She said: “We need improvements to the health information system, regular and sustainable population and health-facility-based surveys, and a functioning vital statistics and civil registration system. We also need to strengthen the use of evidence-linked planning for resource allocation and utilization”.
Also giving a vote of thanks, the newly re-elected vice president, Mrs. Njide Ndili, who is also the Country Director of PharmAccess Foundation, urged everyone to utilize the wide array of insightful segments that the conference had to offer.
She said: “The conference comes amid several challenges facing the healthcare ecosystem in Nigeria, including funding for healthcare, monetary policy tightening and volatility, gaps in fiscal policy and poor implementation, and dwindling human resources for health, with increasing brain-drain throughout the value chain and ecosystem.”
The conference featured a wide array of presentations and panel discussions on possible solutions to the highlighted challenges as well as showcased some of the solutions that are already working in the country’s healthcare system that could be replicated for a better healthcare for all.
Also introduced at the conference was the first HFN Women’s Forum. The forum was launched by Dr. (Mrs.) Tomi Coker, the honorable commissioner of health in Ogun State, alongside Mrs. Bola Adesola, Member of HFN Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Board of Ecobank.
PharmAccess Foundation has provided financial support and technical assistance to the federation since its inception, including business training, conferences and advocacy visits to stakeholders, and has pledged to continue its support for the inclusion of private sector in the delivery of healthcare.
