THE Federal Ministry of Health has proposed a N91.4 million anniversary fund for its Abuja headquarters in its 2022 proposed budget.
The fund does not include allocations for similar activity by agencies, hospitals, and other institutions under the ministry in the financial year.
The headquarters of the ministry, located within the Federal Secretariat Complex, will spend the budget to commemorate six events.
Check by The ICIR showed that the minimum fund for commemorating each event is N10 million, and the highest is N35 million.
The ministry will commemorate International Cancer Week, World Cancer Day, World Drug Day, National Oral Health Week with N10 million each, making N40 million.
According to the budget, the World Drug Day and World Cancer Day commemoration will be accompanied by public enlightenment.
The ministry hopes to spend N35 million on the commemoration of United Nations World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Road Traffic Collisions (TRAUMA) and World Week of Remembrance of Crash Victims, World Trauma Week and Global Road Safety Week (GRSW).
It also plans to spend another N16.45 million on World Patient Safety Day Commemoration and public enlightenment on patient safety.
The funds will be taken out of the N711.28 billion proposed for the health sector, from the nearly N16.4 trillion Appropriation Bill for the year.
Recurrent expenditure, comprising salaries, funds for workers’ training and running of offices, will gulp N516 billion, while the remaining N194.6 billion, representing 27 per cen, is earmarked for capital projects.
Last week, the ICIR reported how the expenditures would consume 73 per cent of the ministry’s budget for the 2022 fiscal year.
President Muhammadu presented the budget to the National Assembly on October 7, and it is already being considered by lawmakers.
The ICIR finding showed that the ministry’s headquarters would get N102.27 billion from the N711.28 allocated to the ministry, which is 14.37 per cent of the budget.
Apart from the funds for commemorating events, the ministry’s headquarters will spend N71.6 million on travel, N31.8 million on consulting and professional services, N32.8 on fuel and lubricants, and N44 million on canteen and kitchen equipment.
The ministry’s headquarters plans to spend 385 million to provide electricity, re-activate electrical security lights and replace obsolete electrical poles (within the ministry’s headquarters) with N40 million.
It will purchase computer software with N439.4 million, antivirus for N12.7 million, spend N853.9 million on monitoring and evaluation, and N115 million to “renovate the concrete roof over basement to stop leakages on third-floor podium A&B” at its headquarters, as well as install a solar panel at the 11th floor of the ministry.
The ministry will procure six utility/pool vehicles and two 18-seater buses for monitoring its projects for N248.5 million. It will procure N84.2 million worth of computers.
Details of the budget further show that the ministry will conduct its staff audit with N98.2 million. It will carry out another review and update of its workforce with another N70.4 million.
The ministry will spend N100 million on the procurement of ambulances and consumables for port health services, N46 million on retreat and skills development on budget and planning activities, and N150 million on monitoring key health projects and programmes by its ministers.
Besides, it hopes to renovate and fortify its basement store and create additional offices for its store officers at the ministry with N146 million.
