The federal government is committed to funding child spacing and the health sector as part of its strategic plan to improve human capital development and foster a productive citizenry under the leadership of President Muhammdu Buhari.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, disclosed this when she hosted a delegation of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria under the Partnership for Advocacy in family and child health at Scale, PACFaH@Scale, in her office on Friday.
The minister, who thanked the delegation for a visit, assured that her ministry will always prioritize the health sector funding, especially on issues bordering on the multilateral agreement and other commitments Nigeria has entered into.
While urging advocates also to improve their advocacy work around utilization and efficiency relating to funds released, she assured that Nigeria would continue to improve the health sector funding, as can be seen since the assumption of office of this current administration.
She said despite its inability to meet the 15 percent commitment, Nigeria has progressively funded the health sector with incremental funding.
She then noted that the federal government is taking innovative steps to improve fiscal transparency through monitoring and evaluation for budget tracking on an MDA-by-MDA level via the Budget Office of The Federation website.
The Accountant General’s office has also initiated a transparency monitor to show governments spending.
Earlier, the head of the delegation, Dr. Minnie Oseji, who is the President of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria, briefed the minister on the association’s ongoing international conference and called on the federal government to support the funding of the health sector.
