The bill, sponsored by Benjamin Olabinjo, who represents Ifako/Ijaiye Federal Constituency in Lagos State, was thought of throughout plenary on Wednesday.
The proposed laws seeks to create a specialised establishment for coaching, analysis and persevering with schooling in nursing, midwifery and associated disciplines.
Presenting the bill, Olabinjo stated the faculty would broaden the availability of certified nurses and midwives wanted by hospitals and different healthcare services throughout the nation.
“Ask any hospital in Nigeria what it needs most, and the answer is almost always the same: more nurses and midwives,” he stated.
The lawmaker famous that nurses and midwives have been indispensable to affected person care, maternal well being and new child survival, however warned that Nigeria was dropping expert professionals at a fee that exceeded its capability to practice replacements.
“Yet we are losing them faster than we are training them. This bill is about training more of them, and training them where they are needed,” Olabinjo added.
The bill proposes that the establishment provide skilled certificates, diplomas, levels and post-basic {qualifications} in nursing, midwifery and associated specialities.
It additionally supplies for the faculty to admit college students, conduct examinations and analysis, organise tutorial programmes and ship persevering with schooling for practising healthcare professionals.
Under the proposed construction, the establishment would function a governing council, a School of Nursing and a School of Midwifery, supported by principal officers answerable for its administration and tutorial affairs.
Olabinjo stated establishing the faculty would strengthen healthcare supply, notably maternal and baby well being companies, by rising the quantity of skilled professionals out there to present important care.
He maintained that increasing midwifery coaching was essential to efforts to scale back preventable maternal and toddler deaths, particularly in communities the place entry to expert delivery attendants remained restricted.
The lawmaker additionally highlighted the potential financial advantages of finding the establishment in Ifako/Ijaiye, saying it might create instructional and employment alternatives for younger individuals in the constituency and different elements of Lagos State.
He defined that the faculty would offer jobs for lecturers, administrative personnel and help workers, whereas creating extra enterprise alternatives for residents and enterprises in the host group.
“Training close to home means a real career for young people in this constituency and Lagos, without the cost of moving far away to study,” he stated.
Seeking the help of his colleagues, Olabinjo argued that bettering Nigeria’s healthcare system required sustained funding in the professionals answerable for offering frontline companies.
“We cannot fix our healthcare system without the people who run it day and night. This bill invests in them,” he stated.
He urged lawmakers to help the bill’s passage by means of second studying and refer it to the related committee for additional legislative scrutiny earlier than it returns to the House for consideration at third studying.
If accepted by the National Assembly and signed into legislation by the President, the bill would establish the authorized framework for creating the proposed federal establishment.
Nigeria’s healthcare sector continues to face challenges relating to the supply and distribution of expert personnel, with the migration of staff to international locations providing higher pay and dealing circumstances including to present pressures.
Nurses and midwives play important roles in major healthcare, antenatal companies, childbirth and postnatal care, making their availability central to efforts to enhance maternal and baby well being outcomes.
The proposed school is meant to improve Nigeria’s capability to practice these professionals. However, its eventual contribution would rely upon efficient implementation, satisfactory funding, accreditation and the recruitment of certified instructing workers.
