On-reviving-nigeria-health-sector-the-urgent-need-for-the-federal-government-to-build-at-least-two-well-equipped-modern-health-centers-in-each-state
September 7, 2020 | News
ON REVIVING NIGERIA’S HEALTH SECTOR – THE URGENT NEED FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO BUILD AT LEAST TWO WELL-EQUIPPED MODERN HEALTH CENTERS IN EACH STATE
It is known fact that the first wealth of a nation is its health. In fact, the availability of affordable, “qualitative health care services” to a vast majority of citizens must be regarded by any responsible Government as one of the guaranteed fundamental human rights. There is empirical evidence that the health of a nation significantly enhances its economic development, and vice versa. HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality, under-5 mortality, malaria, tuberculosis, etc., have undermined development and impoverished many developing nations such as Nigeria. Nonetheless, it has been enunciated that the pursuit of better health should not await an improved economy; rather measures to improve health will themselves contribute to economic growth. The way a country finances its health care system is a key determinant of the health of its citizenry. Sadly, even with the end of the deadline for attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the launch of the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) some few years ago, Nigeria still has one of the worst health indices and far worse than war-torn countries like Liberia according to a recent report.
With all the advancement in Modern Health Care delivery/service that is evident and obtainable around the globe, it is rather unfortunate and sad to note that Nigeria, despite being blessed in abundance, both in human and material resources, the nation’s health sector is nothing to write home about. Considering the daily alarming death toll in various Hospitals/Clinics, particularly public hospitals across the nation, the Nigerian health sector should be a matter of utmost importance to the present administration. It is not rock science to understand that, with the evident population explosion across the country, there is no way the existing medical facilities and medical infrastructure around the country, especially public healthcare centers like Teaching Hospitals or General Hospitals, can cater for the rising population. Some of the Federal Teaching Hospitals were built over two decades ago, and we can imagine the population growth within this same period in the country. So, we now have on our hands, medical facilities that are being overstretched, overused, and to make matters worse, they are not maintained and equipped with modern facilities as they should.
Some few years ago, it was reported that Nigeria spends an average of N2.5t annually on medical tourism. This includes what Nigerians spend on medicine (prescription) component of their treatment while outside the shores of the country, which is estimated to be at least $250m or N125b. The situation, according to Nigerian Doctors and Pharmacists, will persist until the Nigerian Governments at all levels paid due attention to improving the ‘deteriorating condition of health facilities’ in the country. Essentially, they are worried that the frequent trips by the rich and top Government officials for medical attention abroad has not helped the situation, with hundreds of millions of naira spent out of government purse – money which can be channeled towards reviving the nation’s failing health sector.
With the reported amounts of huge funds that were stolen and misappropriated within the Government space, particularly within the 16 years of the PDP Federal Government, if a quarter of such monies were spent on the nation’s health sector, the Nigeria of today will be the home of foreigners seeking for medical attention in Africa and across the world. Think of what these monies that were in billions of US Dollars, could have done in Nigeria and its economy if it was invested here by these same people? These people, literally took residence outside the shores of Nigeria, to embark on a spending spree and assets acquisition in Nigeria and outside Nigeria in places like Britain, Canada, United States and Switzerland. Whereas, within that same 16-year period they were doing this, other African and foreign countries were investing in the provision of basic infrastructural needs for their growing populace.
Take the Rush Hospital East Tower in Chicago for instance, which was built with $654m, not billions of dollars, we are talking about millions of dollars and they built it in 2011. Do you know how much they make in that hospital, $3.79 billion? We can see how basic infrastructure can fuel and improve the economy of a nation. They spent $654m and now they are making over $3billion yearly, and we are sure some Nigerian big wigs and government officials go there to pay big money to get treated for terminal sicknesses like cancer, as they have a cancer center there. That hospital alone in the US has 8,436 employees as at 2013, employs 1,789 Doctors and 1,366 Nurses. People would have nice jobs today in Nigeria if they had used the stolen funds for such vital infrastructure. There is also the Texas Children’s Hospital - Pavilion for Women, that was built with $575million between 2007-2012. Smilow Cancer Hospital in the US was built with $454m. That is a cancer center. Even if we have just one of these in Nigeria today, do you know how much they will be making for the economy? Some Nigerian celebrities who were rich yesterday, are today seeking for funds to go treat terminal illnesses abroad. Just think of the hospitals that we would have today if not for these public thieves. Just two good hospitals of international standard in each State, it can save us a lot of money spent yearly on medical tourism, which would be invested back into the Nigerian economy. This would even make the Federal hospitals to feel the competition and improve on their current status and services. Yet, we have corrupt Nigerians who had stolen almost $2billion which they spent on private yachts, cars, properties etc.
Now that we have a Federal Government that has not given room for much wastage of public funds through private pockets, we strongly advise that they should build at least two Federal medical centers in every state, which should be well-equipped with modern medical facilities like the ones we see in Europe and US. The current situation of having Nigerians queuing up in only Teaching hospitals is not fair, and should not be the case. In developed societies in Europe and US, every medical centre has all the medical facilities needed to diagnose and treat patience. Going to Dubai, UK France, Germany, US, India, etc., for one medical need or the other, should not arise. The Nigerian Government should focus on addressing this issue and make it “a medical project emergency” that should be accomplished by all means and as soon as practicable.
Nigeria has all the required medical specialists to operate such medical centers efficiently. And most importantly, the said medical centers should be accessible and affordable to every Nigerian to have a taste of better healthcare delivery. In the medical profession, Nigeria can boast of being amongst nations with the best brains in the medical field around the world. We have many Researchers and Consultants in Medicine. Unfortunately, most of them have chosen to pursue their careers/profession in Diaspora, where they are better treated, respected and regarded in the medical field. Not to mention the well-structured and sophisticated medical facilities/equipment that are available for them, which makes it attractive and comfortable for them to remain abroad. It did not come as a surprise to us when it was recently reported that Nigerians and other nationals top the list of foreign doctors practicing in the United Kingdom (UK), according to the British National Health Service (NHS). The fact that over 3000 Nigeria-trained doctors are currently practicing in Britain speaks volume on the poor work environment and poor job satisfaction among the medical work force in Nigeria. At home in Nigeria, most good and exceptional doctors that we have prefer to work for or with private hospitals/clinics, or at the best, run their own hospitals/clinics. Where does that leave the ‘common man’ in having access to such good medical services?
Reviving the health sector is not an impossible task that cannot be realized. This is because we have the capable hands, the brains and wherewithal as a nation, which can effectively and efficiently transform our health sector for the better. It is all about placing the ‘right persons’ in the right positions, and not allowing the evil of corruption and unaccountability to destroy us. Ensuring a good Health Sector goes beyond having ‘structures and buildings’ as hospitals/health centers or passing health Insurance schemes into law. It is about ensuring that all Nigerians irrespective of status and location have easy access to the right medical health care that use the best medical equipment, personnel, good conditions/terms of service, etc. It is to this end that we rendering the subject matter and urge the Federal Government to build at least two Federal medical centres in every state with state-of-the-art healthcare facilities across the nation. The Federal Government can decide to go into a public/private sector partnership to actualize this. But it will surely go a long way in improving our economy through the provision of jobs, and revenue generation for the government.
Zik Gbemre.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
It is known fact that the first wealth of a nation is its health. In fact, the availability of affordable, “qualitative health care services” to a vast majority of citizens must be regarded by any responsible Government as one of the guaranteed fundamental human rights. There is empirical evidence that the health of a nation significantly enhances its economic development, and vice versa. HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality, under-5 mortality, malaria, tuberculosis, etc., have undermined development and impoverished many developing nations such as Nigeria. Nonetheless, it has been enunciated that the pursuit of better health should not await an improved economy; rather measures to improve health will themselves contribute to economic growth. The way a country finances its health care system is a key determinant of the health of its citizenry. Sadly, even with the end of the deadline for attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the launch of the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) some few years ago, Nigeria still has one of the worst health indices and far worse than war-torn countries like Liberia according to a recent report.
With all the advancement in Modern Health Care delivery/service that is evident and obtainable around the globe, it is rather unfortunate and sad to note that Nigeria, despite being blessed in abundance, both in human and material resources, the nation’s health sector is nothing to write home about. Considering the daily alarming death toll in various Hospitals/Clinics, particularly public hospitals across the nation, the Nigerian health sector should be a matter of utmost importance to the present administration. It is not rock science to understand that, with the evident population explosion across the country, there is no way the existing medical facilities and medical infrastructure around the country, especially public healthcare centers like Teaching Hospitals or General Hospitals, can cater for the rising population. Some of the Federal Teaching Hospitals were built over two decades ago, and we can imagine the population growth within this same period in the country. So, we now have on our hands, medical facilities that are being overstretched, overused, and to make matters worse, they are not maintained and equipped with modern facilities as they should.
Some few years ago, it was reported that Nigeria spends an average of N2.5t annually on medical tourism. This includes what Nigerians spend on medicine (prescription) component of their treatment while outside the shores of the country, which is estimated to be at least $250m or N125b. The situation, according to Nigerian Doctors and Pharmacists, will persist until the Nigerian Governments at all levels paid due attention to improving the ‘deteriorating condition of health facilities’ in the country. Essentially, they are worried that the frequent trips by the rich and top Government officials for medical attention abroad has not helped the situation, with hundreds of millions of naira spent out of government purse – money which can be channeled towards reviving the nation’s failing health sector.
With the reported amounts of huge funds that were stolen and misappropriated within the Government space, particularly within the 16 years of the PDP Federal Government, if a quarter of such monies were spent on the nation’s health sector, the Nigeria of today will be the home of foreigners seeking for medical attention in Africa and across the world. Think of what these monies that were in billions of US Dollars, could have done in Nigeria and its economy if it was invested here by these same people? These people, literally took residence outside the shores of Nigeria, to embark on a spending spree and assets acquisition in Nigeria and outside Nigeria in places like Britain, Canada, United States and Switzerland. Whereas, within that same 16-year period they were doing this, other African and foreign countries were investing in the provision of basic infrastructural needs for their growing populace.
Take the Rush Hospital East Tower in Chicago for instance, which was built with $654m, not billions of dollars, we are talking about millions of dollars and they built it in 2011. Do you know how much they make in that hospital, $3.79 billion? We can see how basic infrastructure can fuel and improve the economy of a nation. They spent $654m and now they are making over $3billion yearly, and we are sure some Nigerian big wigs and government officials go there to pay big money to get treated for terminal sicknesses like cancer, as they have a cancer center there. That hospital alone in the US has 8,436 employees as at 2013, employs 1,789 Doctors and 1,366 Nurses. People would have nice jobs today in Nigeria if they had used the stolen funds for such vital infrastructure. There is also the Texas Children’s Hospital - Pavilion for Women, that was built with $575million between 2007-2012. Smilow Cancer Hospital in the US was built with $454m. That is a cancer center. Even if we have just one of these in Nigeria today, do you know how much they will be making for the economy? Some Nigerian celebrities who were rich yesterday, are today seeking for funds to go treat terminal illnesses abroad. Just think of the hospitals that we would have today if not for these public thieves. Just two good hospitals of international standard in each State, it can save us a lot of money spent yearly on medical tourism, which would be invested back into the Nigerian economy. This would even make the Federal hospitals to feel the competition and improve on their current status and services. Yet, we have corrupt Nigerians who had stolen almost $2billion which they spent on private yachts, cars, properties etc.
Now that we have a Federal Government that has not given room for much wastage of public funds through private pockets, we strongly advise that they should build at least two Federal medical centers in every state, which should be well-equipped with modern medical facilities like the ones we see in Europe and US. The current situation of having Nigerians queuing up in only Teaching hospitals is not fair, and should not be the case. In developed societies in Europe and US, every medical centre has all the medical facilities needed to diagnose and treat patience. Going to Dubai, UK France, Germany, US, India, etc., for one medical need or the other, should not arise. The Nigerian Government should focus on addressing this issue and make it “a medical project emergency” that should be accomplished by all means and as soon as practicable.
Nigeria has all the required medical specialists to operate such medical centers efficiently. And most importantly, the said medical centers should be accessible and affordable to every Nigerian to have a taste of better healthcare delivery. In the medical profession, Nigeria can boast of being amongst nations with the best brains in the medical field around the world. We have many Researchers and Consultants in Medicine. Unfortunately, most of them have chosen to pursue their careers/profession in Diaspora, where they are better treated, respected and regarded in the medical field. Not to mention the well-structured and sophisticated medical facilities/equipment that are available for them, which makes it attractive and comfortable for them to remain abroad. It did not come as a surprise to us when it was recently reported that Nigerians and other nationals top the list of foreign doctors practicing in the United Kingdom (UK), according to the British National Health Service (NHS). The fact that over 3000 Nigeria-trained doctors are currently practicing in Britain speaks volume on the poor work environment and poor job satisfaction among the medical work force in Nigeria. At home in Nigeria, most good and exceptional doctors that we have prefer to work for or with private hospitals/clinics, or at the best, run their own hospitals/clinics. Where does that leave the ‘common man’ in having access to such good medical services?
Reviving the health sector is not an impossible task that cannot be realized. This is because we have the capable hands, the brains and wherewithal as a nation, which can effectively and efficiently transform our health sector for the better. It is all about placing the ‘right persons’ in the right positions, and not allowing the evil of corruption and unaccountability to destroy us. Ensuring a good Health Sector goes beyond having ‘structures and buildings’ as hospitals/health centers or passing health Insurance schemes into law. It is about ensuring that all Nigerians irrespective of status and location have easy access to the right medical health care that use the best medical equipment, personnel, good conditions/terms of service, etc. It is to this end that we rendering the subject matter and urge the Federal Government to build at least two Federal medical centres in every state with state-of-the-art healthcare facilities across the nation. The Federal Government can decide to go into a public/private sector partnership to actualize this. But it will surely go a long way in improving our economy through the provision of jobs, and revenue generation for the government.
Zik Gbemre.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes