By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
On Tuesday, the Senate received a request from President Muhammadu Buhari to approve donor fund projects under the 2018-2020 Federal Government External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan.
The request came on the same day the Senate passed a bill to establish the National Dermatology Hospital (NDH), Garkida, Adamawa State and another bill to establish Federal Medical Centres (FMCs) across the country.
The FMC bill states the need to equip and maintain them to provide facilities for diagnosis, rehabilitation, and treatment of patients.
The passage of both bills followed the consideration of two separate reports by the Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary).
Committee Chairman Yahaya Oloriegbe (APC, Kwara Central) explained that the FMC bill seeks to, among others, provide law to regulate the development and management of FMCs to set standards for “rendering intensive, effective and efficient healthcare services to the generality of Nigerians.”
Apart from providing equipment and facilities for diagnosis and medical treatment, he said, the FMCs will serve as training schools and institutions for advanced healthcare services.
“It will provide laboratories, research and experimental stations necessary for efficient national health service delivery,” Oloriegbe added.
He said the passage of the NDH bill will also will also help provide diagnosis, cure, rehabilitation, cosmetic and treatment of all skin, hair and other ailments requiring dermatology care.
Donor fund projects under borrowing plan
The Senate has received a request from President Muhammadu Buhari to approve donor fund projects under the 2018-2020 Federal Government External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan.
Buhari explained in his letter that donor fund is meant for projects to be financed through sovereign loans from the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), French Development Agency (AFD), Islamic Development Bank, China EXIMBank, China Development Bank, European Investment Bank, European ECA, KfW, lPEX, AFC, India EximBank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The projects are geared towards realising the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan that cut across key sectors such as Infrastructure, Health, Agriculture and Food Security, Energy, Education and Human Capital Development and COVID 19 Response efforts in the six zones of the country.
The letter contained a summary of some key projects in each of the six zones and a summary on the expected impacts on the socio economic development of each zone.
He said he made the borrowing request “given the importance attached, to the timely delivery of the projects listed in the proposed Borrowing Plan and the benefits both the Federal and State Governments stand to gain from the implementation of same.”
