ABSTRACT
Prior to 2014, most states in Nigeria have had their health laws. But they were of colonial heritage, outdated and lacking the focus of modern health challenges, and they could not contribute to or reflect the current state of health services as practiced in most parts of the world. In 2014, the National Health Act of Nigeria was belatedly enacted. It attempts to regulate, develop and manage a national health system as well as to set standards for rendering health services. This Act has left much to be desired. This is especially valid in the area of providing the framework for the day-to-day evaluation of the national health policy. Such a framework should determine how each of the states holds to the dictates of the policy for uniformity and in tandem with global best practices. The new Act questioned the manner of management of health services in its pre-enactment era in terms of uniformity of purpose and objectives. This chapter examines the impact of this evaluation on public health in relation to sustainable development and how the states have directed efforts towards the achievement of the national health policy in Nigeria. It investigates the extent of this gap and the implementation in the years of absence of an enabling law which could have shaped a framework for sustainable public health in Nigeria. The chapter finds that the federal Government of Nigeria needs to make the 2014 public health law accessible to both health practitioners and health service consumers for better service delivery. The states need to update or enact new laws that will reflect sustainability for the future. The training of health workers should involve the understanding of all enabling laws relating to the health care system in Nigeria.
