By Muhammad Amaan
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has taken his father to the National Hospital, Abuja where he was admitted for treatment, Health Reporters exclusively learnt.
Impeccable source confirmed that the minister’s father, Alhaji Ali Pate, was on admission at the National Hospital, a public hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment from medical doctors.
The source who did not provide details of the illness, said Prof. Pate’s father’s receiving treatment at the hospital shows confidence in the country’s health sector by the minister, courtesy of a lot of reforms being carried out by him as the coordinating minister of health, since assumption to office less than two years ago.
“This is a positive development for a minister of health to bring his father to a public hospital, and it clearly shows that the minister is walking the talk, and demonstrated the level of confidence he has in the various reforms and programmes he has been carrying out in the health sector, since coming to office as the coordinating minister of health and social welfare,” the source said.
Health Reporters Newspaper reports that since his appointment as the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare in August 2023, Professor Pate has focused on improving healthcare infrastructure and promoting local manufacturing of essential medical supplies, aiming for a healthier and more self-reliant nation.
The minister has initiated several reforms and programmes aimed at improving the country’s health sector, which aimed at curbing ‘health tourism, brain drain by medical doctors, and providing affordable and qualitative healthcare services to all Nigerians.
Some of the programmes and initiatives includes; National Health Fellows Programme, an initiative under President Bola Tinubu’s administration that focused on improving the efficiency and accessibility of emergency medical services and pre-hospital care.
Under the initiative, 774 young Nigerian fellows, between the ages of 25 and 35, were engaged in all the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country.
The fellowship programme is domiciled in the Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) coordination office under the office of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare.
President Tinubu has since approved the employment of the fellows, who were equipped with appropriate tools to drive positive change in the health sector.
Professor Pate had also launched the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (NEMSAS), which aims to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system by institutionalising emergency medical services and an ambulance system.
The NEMSAS operates through State Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance Systems (SEMSAS) in all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
According to Prof. Pate during the launch of the programme in Bauchi State, the Ministry of Health has prioritised emergency medical services, in order to progress towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (CHU) as prescribed by the National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA) which will fund delivery of emergency medical services.
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