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President Muhammadu Buhari has restated his administration’s commitment to improving health facilities, equipment and services in the country, saying rural dwellers will be given special attention for better healthcare.
Buhari said a turn around of the country’s health sector would reduce dependence on foreign countries for medical treatment, noting that health services in rural areas deserved better attention.
The President, who spoke at the commissioning of a 60-bed capacity Nigerian Air Force Reference Hospital (NAFRHI) in Daura, Katsina State, said the Federal Government in the last four years invested huge resources in the health sector.
He explained that the government achieved that with increased budgetary allocation from N259 billion in 2015 to over N340 billion in 2018.
“Accordingly, significant strides have been made in life expectancy and reduced some of the killer diseases associated with child and maternal mortality to less than 70 deaths per 100, 000 live births by the year 2030, as planned in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs),” he stated.
President Buhari commended the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar for the Reference Hospital with state-of-art medical equipment for radio-diagnosis, cancer screening, dialysis, laboratory diagnosis and research in Daura to serve neighbouring states and communities.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Mrs. Nuratu Batagarawa, said the project was conceived and implemented with military personnel and the community in mind to provide quality healthcare.
Speaking, Abubakar noted that the 60-bed capacity health facility has nine medical consultants, as well as 61 general medical practitioners and dentists.
