Gates urges Nigeria to prioritise primary health sector

Global philanthropist and co-Chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, has called on the Federal Government to prioritise the strengthening of the primary healthcare sector at all levels to achieve more in public healthcare.

Speaking during an interaction with members of the National Economic Council (NEC) at the State House, Abuja, Gates emphasised that primary healthcare is the foundation of a functional health system, yet Nigeria spends only N3,000 per person per year on primary healthcare with 70% of healthcare spending going to secondary and tertiary care.

He charged government to rather give the larger funding,which currently goes to the secondary healthcare sector to the primary healthcare sector, noting that it is the foundation and most critical facility, which achieves more of the healthcare targets of governments.