By Justina Auta, News Agency of Nigeria, Abuja.
The National Assembly (NASS), in collaboration with the Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development (LISDEL), has intensified efforts to address hypertension through a broad awareness and screening campaign targeting lawmakers and legislative staff.
The initiative followed an advocacy visit on Wednesday in Abuja to the Chairman, House Committee on Health Care Services, Rep. Amos Magaji, who approved its rollout within the National Assembly complex.
The programme, driven by the Advocacy Partnership for Hypertension Financing and Patient Voice (APH-FiP), a LISDEL project supported by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), focuses on early detection and response to hypertension.
Hypertension is often described as a “silent killer” due to its ability to progress without noticeable symptoms until serious complications arise, including heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.
Magaji said the campaign would provide free blood pressure checks for lawmakers and thousands of legislative staff, emphasising that early detection was key to reducing the burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
“We must sound the alarm on this burden. Advocacy and lobbying are key to attracting the attention that leads to funding, and that process must begin from within,” he said.
He added that the initiative would position the National Assembly as a model for workplace health promotion and preventive healthcare practices across public institutions.
Magaji also reaffirmed the need to strengthen health financing frameworks, including dedicated budget lines for hypertension interventions to prevent diversion of funds.
He further called for an increase in the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) from one per cent to two per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The lawmaker emphasised the importance of accountability mechanisms, including data-driven indicators to better demonstrate disease burden to fiscal authorities and guide funding decisions.
Prof. Emmanuel Alhassan, Nigeria Country Coordinator for Hypertension and Immunisation at GHAI, called for a multisectoral approach involving policymakers, health workers, the media, and communities.
Alhassan said strengthening primary healthcare systems and expanding health insurance coverage were critical to improving access to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services for NCDs.
He said that the campaign reflected growing recognition that non-communicable diseases had become a national priority requiring coordinated and sustained action.
Ezinne Ezekwem, Associate Director for NCDs at GHAI, said early detection significantly reduces treatment costs and improves health outcomes compared to late-stage intervention.
Olympus Adebanjo, Public Finance Manager at LISDEL, said the partnership aimed to increase budget releases, strengthen patient participation in policymaking, and improve accountability in health financing.
He added that the initiative would also use media engagement to raise awareness of hypertension and promote implementation of the National Multisectoral Action Plan on NCDs.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the campaign will include sustained media advocacy to maintain public attention on hypertension and other non-communicable diseases.
It will also sensitise the NASS Press Corps to prioritise reporting on NCDs, while highlighting findings from oversight activities showing rising cases of hypertension and diabetes nationwide. (NAN)
