By CrossRiverWatch Admin
The appointment of a new Executive Director (ED) for the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) by President Muhammadu Buhari is a step in the right direction as his administration health policy is centred on primary health care says Betta Edu, the director general of the Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency (CRSPHCDA).
Betta made this known Friday in a statement issued in Vienna to congratulate the new ED, Professor Echezona Ezeanolue where she said President Buhari has demonstrated his will to reposition the health care system in the country for greater impact on the people, especially the primary health system which she says has been made a priority.
The statement read in part, “We receive with enthusiasm the news of the appointment of the new Executive Director and we congratulate president Buhari for his continuous effort to strengthen PHC (sic) in Nigeria especially with his administration’s policy in health centred on primary health care.
“However, we must advise our new ED that his job is humongous and for him to succeed he must deliberately carry along his foot soldiers, the head of SPHCDA in all the states as well as other key stakeholders. We must be innovative in the face of tight economic times and our programmes and intervention must remain people centred”.
President Buhari had earlier this afternoon announced the sack of the heads of five medical agencies and replaced them with new ones which includes Professor Echezona Ezeanolue, a Professor of Paediatrics and Public Health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA who replaces Dr. Ado Mohammed as the ED NPHCDA.
A statement emanating from the office of the Secretary General of the Federation said the President also approved the removal of the heads of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Nigerian Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), and National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
According to the statement, Dr. Chikwe-Adreas Ihekweazu is now the National Coordinator of NCDC, Dr. Sani H. Aliyu is the Director General (DG) of NACA, Professor Babatunde Lawal Salako as the new DG of NIMR and Professor Usman Yusuf as the new Executive Secretary of the NHIS.