Nation
NASS Holds Annual Legislative Summit On Health, May 23
The Joint National Assembly Committee on Health has announced that it would hold the 4th second edition of the annual legislative summit on health from May 23 to 25, in Abuja.
The Chairman of the joint committee, Sen. Ibrahim Oloriegbe (APC-Kwara), said this at a news conference in Abuja yesterday.
The annual Legislative Summit on Health is a product of the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage.
It is primarily of legislators with members of the Executive Arm of Government and non-state actors participating to provide institutional contexts focused on the health sector.
It is convened annually to provide a platform for Nigerian legislators to confer and resolve on matters pertaining to the resilience of the health sector to provide equitable quality of care to citizens.
He said the overall objective of setting up the legislative network was to effectively leverage statutory functions of the Legislature in Nigeria for improved health financing towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Oloriegbe said the specific objectives was to achieve improved appropriation to health sector by deepening the knowledge of legislators on economic, social, health and political benefits of improved health funding towards UHC.
According to him, it is to ensure prompt and adequate release of allocated funds by working with the lawmakers to make relevant central budget agencies accountable for fund releases.
He said the summit was to elvolve better ways to ensure timely passage of relevant high quality health laws especially the legal framework for State Supported Health Insurance Scheme (SSHIS).
According to him, the previous editions of the summits had contributed to accountability for implementation of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) guideline in line with the National Health Act.
He said the summit had resulted in annual fiscal appropriations inclusive of the BHCPF one per cent of the consolidated revenue fund to provide a minimum package of basic health services to all Nigerians since the first summit was convened.
He said the summit would review the state of the health of the nation and the national health system, the role of adequate financing as the nexus for UHC and health security in Nigeria, and what opportunities exist for the health sector to leverage.
“It will also leverage on lessons from Covid-19 national and subnational responses to improve the health security landscape,” he said.
“It is our sincere hope that this year’s summit to build on past successes to impact positively on the health sector and Nigeria as a whole.
“The summits have continued to be a rallying point of learning, interaction and agenda setting for legislators and other key actors in the health sector across the country,” he noted.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
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