Our Hope for 2017 and Beyond
By ChiYoWo
With 2016 coming to a close it is time to start thinking about the New Year and the things we want to accomplish not only for ourselves but for our children, our youth, and our women all over the world.
The people of Nigeria, especially women and children have been struck by many hardships over the years and it is time for adversity to end. It is time to have access to education, for there to be gender equality, greater access to healthcare, and for everyone to equally have the opportunity to live a happy and prosperous life.
There are many people and organizations all over the world that are making what once was a dream, a reality. Organizations such as ONE, The Nigerian Health Watch, Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria, Afri-Dev, WARDC and partners are calling on the Government of Nigeria to:
- Allocate dedicated resources to benefit all Nigerian women and girls, particularly in the poorest and the most vulnerable areas.
- Step up funding for nutrition in the 2017 budget in line with the national nutrition strategy.
- Provide additional funding of 1% of CRF promised for the Basic Care Provision Fund within the National Health Act and to do so within the 2017 budget. A call has been made to set a timetable to achieve the Abuja Declaration commitment to allocate at least 15% of the annual budget to health by the end of the term of this government in 2019.
- Ensure that states allocate the 15% to the health budget and data is made available on health budgets allocated and implemented at both the state and federal levels, to facilitate accountability to citizens.
This New Year brings new hope to the children youth and women in Nigeria. There are people listening, raising awareness, and working hard to ensure that lives and situations change for the better. It is time to make a difference.
Related Research:
ONE – https://www.one.org/africa/press/make-naija-stronger-health-campaign-launched/
