The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has urged President Bola Tinubu to allocate at least 15 per cent of the 2024 annual budget to the health sector.
The President of NARD, Dr Dele Abdullahi, disclosed this in an interview while decrying the exclusion of the health sector from the 2023 supplementary budget.
This was even as the Joint Health Sector Unions said the health sector was too important to be neglected in the supplementary budget.
NARD and JOHESU said it is unfortunate that the health sector was excluded from the supplementary budget despite its poor state.
The National Assembly last Monday approved a N2.18tn supplementary budget for the 2023 fiscal year.
The FG said the supplementary budget was to fund urgent issues, including defence and security as well as the provision of welfare packages for workers and poor Nigerians to cushion the biting effects of petrol subsidy removal.
While decrying the exclusion of the health sector from the supplementary budget, the NARD president said, “It is sad and unfortunate that the health sector was not included in the supplementary budget. The health sector is in shambles and a lot of things need to be done about the sector but it was considered in the budget.