The Chairman of Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria Rt. Hon. Abubakar Y Suleiman has tasked members of the National and State Assemblies to come up with legislation that would enhance resilience against health emergencies like Covid-19 pandemic.
The made the statement while delivering goodwill message at a two-day stakeholders conference with the theme Building Back Better With Resilience: Enhancing the Role of Parliaments in Disaster Risk Reduction; Lessons from Covid-19 Pandemic and the Economics of Healthcare; Developing the Nigerian Product organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Inter parliamentary Relations and House Adhoc Committee on Covid-19, held at International Conference Centre Abuja on Wednesday.
According to the Chairman, the parliaments have a duty to ensure that all measures are taken that will result in enhanced protection and support of the most vulnerable, thus National and State Assemblies should establish legislative measures to govern and support risk management measures.
He also charge the participants to come out with a good document that will put our health system at the forefront and as well as enliven the spirit of Nigerians so as to repose their confidence in Nigeria health sector.
Rt. Hon. Abubakar Suleiman who is the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly commended the organizers of the Conference which he described as timely, saying that covid-19 pandemic has taught us to be proactive especially in the area of healthcare and disease prevention by preparing ourselves for any possible endemic, pandemic, disasters or calamities
“One of the lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic is the need to understand the vulnerability of individuals, communities and societies in order to have reliable, targeted guidance and early warnings.
“All sectors of human endeavor are being affected by the consequences of this disease. Economy, health, education, agriculture name them, all sectors are at standstill.
“The question is how do we rebuild, revamp and reactivate these sectors? The work is too tedious. Someone may be hopeless and pessimistic on whether or not the economy, the education, agriculture and so on and so forth can return to what they used to be before the pandemic or even grow better. But for me, I am optimistic. With resilience nothing is impossible.” He explained.
The Chairman emphasized the need for legislators to come up with legislative plans on inclusive Health care in Nigeria and the establishment of a Nigerian Phenomenon Centre to facilitate disease profiling, research, and enhanced precision public health care services in Nigeria, increasing investments in Nigeria-led institutions such as the Nigerian Centers for Disease Control (NCDC) and other policy research institutions like Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) to prepare Nigeria’s readiness for future exogenous shocks such as COVID-19 and structured debt relief and targeted debt forgiveness to mitigate the economic hardships caused by the pandemic in Nigeria.
