Affordable Healthcare Critical To Growth Of ECOWAS Citizens – MPs

Members of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament) have restated the importance of affordable healthcare for the citizens of the sub-region, stressing that it is critical for overall development.

This was part of the deliberations to provide more access to healthcare for the citizens at the closing parts of the Delocalized meeting of the Joint Committee: Committee on Health/Committee on Education, Science and Culture/Committee on Telecommunications and Information Technology/Committee on Industry and Private Sector.

The delocalised meeting held in Conakry, Republic of Guinea, between September 3 and 7 with the theme: “Promoting health services and education in West Africa: the role of the ECOWAS Parliament” highlighted the investment Guinea has made to boost the health needs of its citizens by establishing a world-class hospital that is being managed for the people.

Co-Chairman of the ECOWAS Parliament Joint Committee on Health, Education, Science and Culture/ Telecommunications and Information Technology| Industry and Private Sector Senator Onyeka Peter Nwebonyi, who is also the Deputy Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate, said regional leaders must boost investment in the health sector.

The lawmaker, who made this call on the sidelines of the Committee’s delocalised meeting in Conakry, tasked other leaders in West African countries to emulate Guinea and make such investments in their various countries.

Another Co-chairman of the ECOWAS Parliament Committee and head of the delegation, Hon Orlando Dias Pereira, lauded the hospital management for its medical excellence and promised to convey their request for renovation and support to the appropriate authorities through the instrumentality of West African Health Organization (WAHO).

The members of the ECOWAS Parliament joint committee visited the oldest hospital in Conakry, established in 1900, Ignace Deen Centre Hospitalier Universitaire and the Hospital Nationale Donka Guinea.

The Hospital Nationale Donka Guinea is a newly renovated hospital with state-of-the-art equipment in the heart of Conakry.
The President of Concession Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Donka, Alpha Diallo, said the hospital was built and equipped in collaboration with the private sector and is operated on concession with Canadian expatriates.

He said there are capacity-building arrangements for Guinea citizens expected to take over when it will be handed over to the Guinean authorities.

The Head of Administration of the hospital, Doctor Denis Bernard Richie, said this has put an end to medical tourism as he would be happy to be treated in the hospital due to the standard set.

… Parliamentarians Move To Address Challenges In Regional Health Sector

The overall objective of the Conakry meeting was to raise awareness among Members of the ECOWAS Parliament on health services and education and find a way to significantly contribute to promoting health policies in ECOWAS member states.

During presentations, discussions, and field visits, members of the Joint Committee made some recommendations aimed at sustaining progress and addressing challenges ahead in promoting health services and education in West Africa.

Above all, they stressed the need for Parliamentarians to actively participate in their country’s national health and education policy programmes.

The Joint Committee also stressed the need for community MPs to undertake awareness-raising, education, and information campaigns to benefit the local population, particularly in rural areas where school enrollment, access to health facilities and telecommunications technologies remain low.

The Joint Committee emphasised that for these objectives to be achieved, the following measures must be implemented:

At the level of the Member States, the Members of Parliament advocated health-promotion policies, including ensuring that community budgets are allocated to health in line with the commitments made in the 2021 Abuja Declaration, in which governments pledged to devote 15% of their national budgets to health.

The Committee recommended innovative financing for the funding and promoting health and education and continuous capacity building for parliamentarians on the concepts of health and health determinants.

The Parliamentarians also moved to incorporate community provisions on health services and education into national legislation.

Other recommended areas include Promoting health education as a fundamental right for all social groups, adopting laws favourable to promoting health services and education in member states and ensuring the internalisation of international, continental, and regional instruments.

At the level of the ECOWAS Parliament, the Committee recommended that the Parliament contribute to behaviour change Communications among the population and communities to promote health and education.