A keen look at Nigeria,
presents an icky realization that what is required to meet up with this much
needed health are either too few or altogether absent. Thus, there are so many
untold stories, and statistics abound most painfully too, of mortality amenable
to health care which could have been prevented. One wonders then, if Nigeria
has any health plan at all.
presents an icky realization that what is required to meet up with this much
needed health are either too few or altogether absent. Thus, there are so many
untold stories, and statistics abound most painfully too, of mortality amenable
to health care which could have been prevented. One wonders then, if Nigeria
has any health plan at all.
The management of any
health care system if it is to be successful should be typically directed
through a set of policies and plans adopted by the government, private sector
business and other groups in areas such as personal health care delivery and
financing, pharmaceuticals, health human resources and public health.. We still
have the largest number of people in Africa and the developed world, traveling
out of the country to seek health services.
health care system if it is to be successful should be typically directed
through a set of policies and plans adopted by the government, private sector
business and other groups in areas such as personal health care delivery and
financing, pharmaceuticals, health human resources and public health.. We still
have the largest number of people in Africa and the developed world, traveling
out of the country to seek health services.
The issue is about primary
healthcare which has virtually collapsed in the country. Primary healthcare,
like most facets of our life, collapsed long ago and the evidence is the
preference for foreign medical attention by Nigeria’s elite who can afford it.
They do not have confidence in our medical personnel to handle even basic
ailments, from toothache to headache, not to talk of more serious medical
conditions.
healthcare which has virtually collapsed in the country. Primary healthcare,
like most facets of our life, collapsed long ago and the evidence is the
preference for foreign medical attention by Nigeria’s elite who can afford it.
They do not have confidence in our medical personnel to handle even basic
ailments, from toothache to headache, not to talk of more serious medical
conditions.
The health sector in
Nigeria is in comatose. It is the reason why people who ought not to die often
do so. At the hospital, patients on admission buy everything namely syringes,
drugs and hand gloves for the nurses, disinfectant, detergent and even bulbs
for the wards. The same scenario of dearth of facilities and decay is
replicated in many public hospitals across the country and even in the four
designated specialist hospitals like the National Hospital that were supposed
to be centres of excellence. The health sector in Nigeria is deeply fragmented,
with only a small fraction of the healthcare coming from a unified and
organized center. The health ministry provides policies and regulations meant
guide the implementation of healthcare, but this is mostly bureaucratic
posturing that gets lost as you drill down to the core of healthcare practices
in the country.
Nigeria is in comatose. It is the reason why people who ought not to die often
do so. At the hospital, patients on admission buy everything namely syringes,
drugs and hand gloves for the nurses, disinfectant, detergent and even bulbs
for the wards. The same scenario of dearth of facilities and decay is
replicated in many public hospitals across the country and even in the four
designated specialist hospitals like the National Hospital that were supposed
to be centres of excellence. The health sector in Nigeria is deeply fragmented,
with only a small fraction of the healthcare coming from a unified and
organized center. The health ministry provides policies and regulations meant
guide the implementation of healthcare, but this is mostly bureaucratic
posturing that gets lost as you drill down to the core of healthcare practices
in the country.
Private hospitals provide
at least 70 per cent of the healthcare in the country, with the rest coming
from federal, state, local government, and even, community-funded health
institutions. Lack of basic amenities in the rural areas where majority of
Nigerians are living has driven some to the urban areas. Probably deluded by
this migration, the government ended up situating many of her infrastructures
in the urban areas. The absence of modern facilities in many public hospitals
is linked to failure of successive governments to pay adequate attention to the
health sector.
at least 70 per cent of the healthcare in the country, with the rest coming
from federal, state, local government, and even, community-funded health
institutions. Lack of basic amenities in the rural areas where majority of
Nigerians are living has driven some to the urban areas. Probably deluded by
this migration, the government ended up situating many of her infrastructures
in the urban areas. The absence of modern facilities in many public hospitals
is linked to failure of successive governments to pay adequate attention to the
health sector.
The federal allocation for
the health sector is laughable in a country with no infrastructure to carry the
most basic necessities such as steady power for hospital equipment (where
available), good roads to transport patients to and from the hospitals,
emergency medial service and personnel (if you dial 911, you’re on your own),
or even water for proper sanitation. The wards in some of the hospitals are so
run down and bare they look like they would be sources for new outbreaks of
diseases. To worsen the situation, allocation of funds never makes it through
intact as the greedy leaders meant to utilize it for the welfare of the people
pare it down to a small fraction of its original size.
the health sector is laughable in a country with no infrastructure to carry the
most basic necessities such as steady power for hospital equipment (where
available), good roads to transport patients to and from the hospitals,
emergency medial service and personnel (if you dial 911, you’re on your own),
or even water for proper sanitation. The wards in some of the hospitals are so
run down and bare they look like they would be sources for new outbreaks of
diseases. To worsen the situation, allocation of funds never makes it through
intact as the greedy leaders meant to utilize it for the welfare of the people
pare it down to a small fraction of its original size.
Inadequate and obsolete
equipment in Nigerian hospitals had over the years contributed to the exodus of
Nigerian doctors and other health personnel abroad in search of better
opportunities. Indeed, poor healthcare services in the country have contributed
to increase in mortality rate in the country. This is basically why doctors,
nurses, and healthcare workers in these institutions are paid a mere pittance
not commensurate with the high level of stress and daily exposure to the
diseases in the high level of stress and daily exposure to the diseases in the
health centers. Some of them do not get paid for months at a time, when they
are the frontline workers in the healthcare system as it is in Nigeria today.
equipment in Nigerian hospitals had over the years contributed to the exodus of
Nigerian doctors and other health personnel abroad in search of better
opportunities. Indeed, poor healthcare services in the country have contributed
to increase in mortality rate in the country. This is basically why doctors,
nurses, and healthcare workers in these institutions are paid a mere pittance
not commensurate with the high level of stress and daily exposure to the
diseases in the high level of stress and daily exposure to the diseases in the
health centers. Some of them do not get paid for months at a time, when they
are the frontline workers in the healthcare system as it is in Nigeria today.
The most disturbing part of
Nigerian health policy is the culture of government sponsoring public officials
abroad for treatment instead of making provision for adequate health care for
Nigerians. For many Nigerians, these acts have continued to expose the lack of
commitment and sincerity of government towards tackling the issue of healthcare
delivery in the country.
Nigerian health policy is the culture of government sponsoring public officials
abroad for treatment instead of making provision for adequate health care for
Nigerians. For many Nigerians, these acts have continued to expose the lack of
commitment and sincerity of government towards tackling the issue of healthcare
delivery in the country.
Saying that the Nigerian
health sector is in shambles is tantamount to saying the sky is up above. This
is the unadulterated truth, fact, reality, right-in-your-face, that Nigerians
have to contend with, in addition to the other litany of inconveniences.
Despite having some of the very best healthcare professionals in the world, the
lack of development of the public healthcare system has eroded the little
confidence the general population have in the Nigerian healthcare system. Even
the leaders who ought to lead by example are most guilty of this lack of faith
the in the Nigerian healthcare system, which is why they excel at flying
themselves and their cronies to other countries with highly developed
healthcare systems at the slightest sign of any health issues.
health sector is in shambles is tantamount to saying the sky is up above. This
is the unadulterated truth, fact, reality, right-in-your-face, that Nigerians
have to contend with, in addition to the other litany of inconveniences.
Despite having some of the very best healthcare professionals in the world, the
lack of development of the public healthcare system has eroded the little
confidence the general population have in the Nigerian healthcare system. Even
the leaders who ought to lead by example are most guilty of this lack of faith
the in the Nigerian healthcare system, which is why they excel at flying
themselves and their cronies to other countries with highly developed
healthcare systems at the slightest sign of any health issues.