A medical laboratory scientist, Dr Solomon Chollom, has called on the Federal Government to establish a National Health Trust Fund.
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Chollom made the call in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Jos.
According to him, the National Health Trust Fund will bring transformative innovations in the health sector, just like the way Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TET Fund) is helping tertiary educational institutions in various innovative efforts and in upgrading their physical and intellectual capacities and structures.
He said there was an urgent need for a National Health Trust Fund in view of the decaying infrastructure in the health sector across the country and the overwhelming threat of emerging and re-emerging health emergencies.
“I strongly propose that the federal government considers the establishment of a National Health Fund which will bring about transformative innovations in the health sector.
“It will support infrastructure, human capacity development and the provision of consumables in the health sector,” the scientist said.
According to him, a National Health Trust Fund will perform better than the existing National Health Bill 2014 which,he said , has struggled to find its foot.
He suggested that the Fund should be funded the same way the TET fund was being funded.
According to Chollom, it is sad that most government -owned hospitals do not have a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MIR) machine.
“The health sector is today in great disarray and needs not just policies but workable ones,” he added.