The Country Representative of the World Health Organisation Nigeria, Dr. Walter Molumbo stated that withholding people's healthcare should be seen as a violation of their human rights.
Molumbo made this statement in Abuja on Tuesday during a health walk organized by the WHO Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to mark the 2024 World Health Day.
The WHD is a global health awareness day celebrated annually on April 7 to draw world attention to a health problem or issue that merits special focus.
The theme for the 2024 WHD is ‘My health, my right’.
He mentioned that WHO was established 76 years ago by Member States based on the principle of human rights and the belief that health is a fundamental human right and should not be considered a privilege.
“Today is an opportunity to remember that any health deprivation should be treated as a human rights violation. A child missing vaccination is a human rights violation. A mother dying while giving birth is not acceptable and should be treated as human rights violation,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Kachollom Daju, said the ministry is working closely with the WHO to strengthen healthcare delivery in the country.
“We aim towards raising awareness about citizens’ rights to healthcare and quality treatment, and this underscores the commitment to monitor health through a human rights lens.
“In the present administration of the renewed hope agenda, the health sector is being reinvigorated, it has been reengineered to ensure that we have Universal Health Coverage for all, starting from the Primary Health Care at the community level, all the way to the Tertiary level,” she said.
