The Federal Government is owing the National Hospital in Abuja more than N48 million for the treatment of albinos with skin cancer, President of The Albino Foundation (TAF) Mr Jake Epelle has said.
“We get the services of the National Hospital and it is predicated on the fact that we will get the Federal government through the Federal Ministry of Health to pay for the service we are getting from the National hospital albino cancer patients. I want to use the opportunity to thank the board chairman and the Chief Medical Director of the hospital for having carried on despite the fact that we are indebted to the tune of N48 million. In spite of that, they are still treating us hoping that we will get our funds and pay our bills, which comes from Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance,” Epelle said.
He spoke at the on-the-spot assessment of the Federal Government/TAF free skin treatment project yesterday in Abuja
Epelle said the sunscreens they procured were rotting away and would expire in five months as government has refused to pay for the clearance.
He said “we were able to procure sunscreen but it was on an agreement that government will pay the manufacturers and we will be able to clear (them). The government has not paid them (manufacturers). It is at the port and the port authorities will not allow us to clear and pretty soon, it will expire. If it comes in, 400, 000 Nigerians will benefit from it. We have samples here with our logos on it. So we are saying give us opportunities to procure these sunscreen.”
He said the meeting with the Hospital management was “to tinker through a pro-active strategy that will help us not only to pay our bills but find a way, not to allow our bills to pile up and that means we pay regularly.”
He said the National Hospital was able to treat a case that was rejected by an Indian hospital and American hospital and it was adjudged successful.
He said over a thousand albinos have been treated for skin related ailments and that there were still quite a number of them receiving treatment at the national hospital.
The Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Dr J.A.F Momoh said “We have been involved in this free treatment but nothing is really free because we have to run the hospital, because we have to buy the drugs and the consumable and so the government is spending a lot on the staff, infrastructure, power and we have not charged for those”.
