Christopher Otabor, Alliance Hospital’s Chief Medical Director (CMD), has recommended providing free healthcare and education to the country’s disadvantaged and most vulnerable citizens as a realistic strategy for tackling poverty and enhancing health security for the majority of Nigerians.
According to UNICEF data for 2023, one in every three Nigerian children is out of school, with 10.2 million at the basic level and 8.1 million at the junior secondary school (JSS) level.
The global body also stated that 12.4 million children have never attended school, and 5.9 million have left school prematurely, contributing to Nigeria’s out-of-school population, which accounts for 15% of the global total.
During a courtesy visit to the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Delu Yakubu, in Abuja, Otabor emphasised that such policies would not only align with and resonate with Nigerians, endearing them to President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, but would also help address the obstacles impeding the government’s achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
He stated that with statistics showing an alarmingly high number of children unable to attend school and many falling ill without the resources to pay for medical treatment, national progress would remain elusive unless handled effectively and collectively.
Otabor announced his desire to launch routine medical outreach programmes in FCT areas with his team of doctors, in collaboration with the Presidency, and stated that the effort will identify economically disadvantaged youngsters for adoption and scholarship opportunities.
He stated that while it is widely acknowledged that the government cannot do everything on its own, wider private-sector participation is now required for the sake of the Nigerian child’s future.
According to him, if the Tinubu administration collaborates with the private sector to increase school enrolment and take care of the medical bills of the vulnerable, a lot will be achieved in tackling poverty and access to quality healthcare services in the ccountry.