The Nigerian Federal Capital Territory Administration has inaugurated a 15-member Committee for the disbursement and monitoring of Emergency Medical Treatment facilities that would carter for the health needs of the poor and most vulnerable persons in the FCT.
The Acting Secretary, FCT Health and Human Service Secretarial, Dr Mohammed Kawu, while inaugurating the committee in Abuja,said the EMT was constituted to ensure optimal coordination in the FCT.
Kawu who stated that, the EMT is one of the three gateways of the basic health care provision fund, noted that the resilience of Emergency Medical Treatment has been tested on several occasions, and the efficiency and effectiveness of the Emergency Medical Treatment requires a lot of improvement.
While stressing that the FCTA under the leadership of the minister, Muhammad Musa Bello, is committed to ensuring the well being of all residents of FCT, the acting health secretary noted that measures are being put in place to enhance the optical operationalization of Emergency Medical Treatment.
“The inauguration of the FCT Emergency Medical Treatment Committee (FEMTC) is a step in the right direction and and hope all hands will be on deck to achieve the 2030 SDGs”, he said.
He advised the committee members to put in their best as required to fully optimize the operationalization of EMT service in FCT.
Chairman of the committee, Dr Ahmadu Abubakar, who is also the Director, Medical and Diagnostic Department, FCT Health and Human Service Secretarial, assured the Secretary that members of the committee will work hard towards the success of the project.
Abubakar identified inadequate resources to fund desired health projects and inadequate trained manpower as some of the factors militating the provision of basic healthcare system in the society.
According to him, ” because the National Health act is a law, it is binding for the government to give an annual grant of not less than one percent of its consolidated revenue to the BHCPF. The 2014 National Health act ensured the provision of basic Minimum package of health services (BMPHS) and Emergency Medical Treatment (EMT) to all Nigerians”.
The concept of the Universal Health Coverage was adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2005, it is aimed at providing a specific health care benefits package to all members of a defined population by providing financial risk protection in the course of accessing necessary health care services.
Members of the committee were carefully selected and are representative of relevant stakeholders to deploy available resources, both human and materials in line with international best practices.
