President Bola Tinubu is set to increase the annual budgetary allocation to the health sector by 10 per cent with possibility of additional increment if managed accountably.
The special adviser to the president on health, Salma Ibrahim-Anas disclosed this at a health summit on taxing sugary drinks and other fiscal policies for healthcare financing, organised by Gatefield in partnership with National Action on Sugar Reduction Coalition and the World Bank in Abuja on Tuesday.
Ibrahim-Anas, who assured that health and financing for health is a priority of the Tinubu-led administration, decried the low budgetary allocation to the sector which presently stood at less 5 per cent.
She said, “The president himself, even before anybody advocated, has said he is going to increase allocation for health. He will start from 10 per cent of the total budgetary allocation going to health and that is just the beginning.
“Based on our demonstration of capacity to utilise and indication of accountability, he is going to increase more and that is just the beginning. He has challenged us to do that, to demonstrate those capacities. And he is ready to support us, to mobilise additional resources wherever they are.”
She also assured that sugar taxes will be fully dedicated to health or at least most of it, while decrying that Nigeria has an excessive consumption of sugar drinks.
Ibrahim-Anas said as a result, the country is battling with non- communicable diseases, significant causes of death accounting for almost 29 per cent.
The special adviser also disclosed plans by the government to increase the number of primary healthcare centres from one per ward to two per ward.
Stakeholders and experts at the summit advanced pro-health tax policy agenda and for significant accruals from sugar tax to be committed to healthcare upon implementation.
Tinubu had suspended the implementation of taxes on sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) till September.
The lead strategist of Gatefield, Adewumi Emorura, said taxes on sugar and tobacco provide an opportunity to raise funding for health and nutrition intervention.
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