The Nigerian government has been urged by the World Health Organization (WHO) to include health in the Exclusive Budget List.
Dr. Walter Kazadi Molumbo, the WHO Country Representative, stated in an interview with journalists on Saturday at the “Walk the Talk” exercise to mark the 75th anniversary of the WHO that adding health to the Exclusive budget list would ensure adherence to the 2001 Abuja Declaration’s pledge of 15% funding.
WHO, according to Molumbo, is anticipating a time when health is viewed as a human right, a tool for socioeconomic development rather than merely a consumer good.
No adolescent, adult, or child will miss a vaccine that will help them grow better, as we envision a world in which none of these things are true.
“We envision a world in which health issues are prioritized alongside security and development concerns.” I believe it should be possible with the member states that make up the WHO, including Nigeria,” he emphasized.
“On the occasion of the WHO’s 75th anniversary, and in remembrance of the time when WHO was founded two years after the universal declaration of human rights, there was a request for the UN organization to examine the aspect of the right to health and to consider human rights; that is how WHO was funded from the hardship of World War 11 and today we are celebrating the legacy, the accomplishments, including the eradication of smallpox.
“We are eradicating polio globally primarily as an opportunity for us to remember why WHO was founded and there was a constitution which is based on human rights approach,” says the organization.
Furthermore, Molumbo stated that WHO is here to remind the world that it is not about what the WHO has done in the last 75 years, but about what it will do in the next 75 years.
It is more about tomorrow and the future than it is about yesterday. We want to make use of it to remind everyone that physical activity is beneficial, especially in light of the demographic transition that is occurring as a result of people living longer.
This is significant; we do it every Saturday, and we invite you to join us today as we continue to celebrate, he continued.