Health
DIRECTOR-GENERAL of Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), Lagos, Prof. Martins Emeje, has called on African leaders to invest more in the health sector to enhance sustainable economic development in the continent.
Emeje made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Ota, Ogun.
He said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) Commission on Macro-economics and Health Report, 2001 showed a striking correlation between a country’s economic development and the quality of its healthcare system.
According to him, any country seeking economic development must invest strategically in its health sector.
“Any effective and sustainable effort at poverty reduction in Africa must include investment in the health sector.
“No poverty reduction programme in Africa will work without simultaneously seeking long term solutions to the continent’s healthcare needs,” he said.
According to Emeje, more than 70 per cent of the drugs and 100 per cent of the vaccines used in Africa are imported from other continents.
The don stressed the need for Africans to make concerted efforts to put more funds in the health sector through research in order to reduce heavy dependence on developed countries. (NAN)
20th November, 2024.
C.E
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