Date: 2016-10-27

Many members of the Nigeria Medical Association, Kwara State branch on Wednesday joined their counterparts all over the country on a sensitisation walk on the implementation of the National Health Act.

The National Health Act was passed into law by the National Assembly in 2014 and had received presidential assent during the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The sensitisation walk, which is part of the activities commemorating the 2016 Physicians Week of the Association in Kwara State, was led by the Deputy Chairman of the Kwara State NMA, Dr. Habeeb Omokanye.

Medical practitioners from various Government and Private Health lnstitutions in the state carried placards with inscriptions demanding for the immediate and full implementation of the National Health Act.

The NMA members began the walk at the association's secretariat in the Ilorin GRA, through some streets in the GRA, to the headquarters of the state Ministry of Health.

At the state Ministry of Health, the Deputy Chairman of the state NMA, Dr. Habeeb Omokanye, who represented the Chairman, Dr. Kunle Olawepo, presented a letter from the National President of the Association, Dr. Mike Ogirima, requesting for the immediate implementation of the Act.

Receiving the letter on behalf of the Commissioner for Health, the ministry's Director of Medical Services, Hajia Zeenat Saad, assured the NMA that the letter would be delivered to the commissioner. Saad expressed optimism that the implementation of the Act would be discussed at the Governors' Forum, to help in solving the Health problems facing Nigerians.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria after the walk, the Deputy Chairman of the association said the Act, when implemented, will put an end to some of the lingering Health problems faced by the less-privileged in the country. He said that the Act, when fully implemented, was capable of solving various problems in the nation's Health sector.

Omokanye said: "We don't want the National Health Act, as passed by the National Assembly and signed into law, to continue to be in the cooler, as we need its immediate implementation." The theme of 2016 Physicians Week is: "Health Care in the Economy, Challenges and the Way forward.