Yesterday, the Government of Nigeria presented the federal budget for 2017. While there has been some progress on health with increased investment to combat the current health crisis facing the nation, ONE and CODE urge the Government to invest more in this key area for the good of the country and its citizens.

Edwin Ikhuoria, ONE Campaign Country Representative said: “The increase in health allocations announced in today’s budget is progress and should be welcomed. Putting more money into Nigeria’s health will not only boost the economy but will change people’s lives, particularly the poor, who are living in dire circumstances especially during this recession.”

ONE applauds the budget increase in capital health projects as a step in the right direction – by emphasizing on primary health care and fighting malnutrition, the President and the Government have taken action to help all citizens particularly those in the North East most affected by poverty. We urge that this momentum does not stop and we continue to progress by creating the Basic Health Care Provision Fund with a minimum of 1% of the Consolidated Revenue Fund into health and fulfilling the promises made in the National Health Act.

“Only by delivering on this commitment and building a pathway towards spending 15% on health as promised in the 2001 African Union Abuja Declaration, will the Government be poised to end the health crisis needed to successful in helping “Make Naija Stronger.”

Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive of Connected Development [CODE] and co-founder of Follow The Money said: “The 2017 budget presentation brings hope for citizens – mostly people in rural communities. Public health care investments remain a key ingredient of development, poverty reduction strategies, and human capital development. We also pledge to support the government by working with the community to ensure that this money is actually spent, and spent well and transparently. To ensure better health outcomes in communities, we also urge the government to open up the budgets so that citizens can follow the money allocated to improve their welfare and as part of m contributing to good governance.”

ENDS

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Notes to Editors

ONE will scrutinise the budget closely and release an updated response that assesses the impacts of Government’s investment in health for next year in more detail.

About ONE

ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organisation of over seven million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, we raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programmes. Read more at www.one.org.

About CODE

Founded in 2012, Connected Development [CODE] is a non-government organization [NGO] whose mission is to improve access to information and empower local communities in Africa. We strengthen local communities by creating platforms for dialogue, enabling informed debate, and building capacities of marginalized communities which ensured social and economic progress while promoting transparency and accountability.