WHERE ARE WE HEADING TO AS A NATION WITH OUR HEALTHCARE?
April 24, 2021 | News
It is no news that Nigerians, have for decades, suffered from an inadequately funded health-care system, squalid clinics and hospitals, and poorly paid and overworked health care workers, most of whom frequently move abroad for better employment opportunities.
WHERE ARE WE HEADING TO AS A NATION WITH OUR HEALTHCARE?
It is no news that Nigerians, have for decades, suffered from an inadequately funded health-care system, squalid clinics and hospitals, and poorly paid and overworked health care workers, most of whom frequently move abroad for better employment opportunities. There are at least 8,178 medical doctors of Nigerian origin working in the U.K., according to data on the U.K. General Medical Council website, a more 50% increase from 2015. Apparently, the exodus has worsened the already bad healthcare in a country that has one doctor for every 5,000 people, according to the Nigeria Medical Association.
With such disturbing prevailing situation in Nigeria’s healthcare system, one would have thought that any serious-minded Government that comes in, would do all that is within its power to address the health and mental wellbeing of its citizenry. Sadly, that has not been the case. What we have had and seen are political leaders who do not seem to care or concerned as much as they should, in addressing the problem in the nation’s health sector, especially for the common man.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari recently traveled to London for a “routine” medical check-up, and he left the country just two days before Nigerian doctors went on strike over unpaid salaries among other vital issues. For over two weeks President Buhari was in London, where he enjoyed uninterrupted electricity, traveled on good roads, and was taken good care of in a well-equipped hospital for his medical check-up – something that the majority of regular Nigerians do not get to enjoy or even have a taste of in most parts of their lives. Buhari’s last trip to London will be his first medical trip abroad since the pandemic, which stripped much of Africa’s elite of the option of flying to the U.K., France or India to see a doctor. And Buhari’s last trip will make it the 6th time in six years he has gone for such medical trip, which many have described as a complete waste of taxpayers’ money.
I have reiterated the fact that, what would be considered the greatest tragedy that would befall a nation, is that if after this whole Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic experience fades away and becomes history, Nigeria’s ailing health sector, as well as the policies and practices within/for that sector – remains unchanged from its deplorable status of not being able to address the healthcare needs of the Nigerian populace. It will be tragic, if, having gone through the turmoil and challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, which adversely affected every aspect of the Nigerian economy and peoples’ ways of life – our leaders refuse to wake up, or unwilling to focus on building world-standard health infrastructure that can compete with those in developed countries.
In the last two decades, we have seen Nigeria experience and witness so much wealth from oil and gas revenues and from other sectors as well, which sadly, our political leaders never judiciously used to transform the infrastructural needs and deficits in the country, especially in the nation’s Health Sector. Rather, our political leaders prefer to fly abroad for every of their medical needs – leaving the general populace to continue to suffer with the existing deplorable Health facilities across the country.
To say that the majority of Nigerians are greatly disappointed at the President Buhari-led Federal Government, would be putting it mildly, especially as regard their stand and actions toward addressing the healthcare issues in the country. And part of that disappointment was hinged on the fact that President Buhari had expressed and promised Nigerians that he would end medical tourism in the country, as one of his campaign promises for the 2015 Presidential elections. Many Nigerians had also advised Buhari to channel attention in addressing the nation’s healthcare system the same way he was gearing up to fight corruption in the polity.
Here is a personal letter written to Muhammadu Buhari on April 23, 2015 in this regard, by Smart Ofugara, a social reformer and advocate for good governance and development: “Healthcare for man through the ages had never taken the back seat. In ancient times, man knew what to do in his environment to address healthcare concerns. It was this progress that grew to the transformation been experienced with healthcare. The various facet of healthcare is so important that researches for cure and vaccines are top priority in the developed nations. Emerging market nations are not left out in this race. The issue of healthcare is so important that the attention it had received in the past needs to be revisited. This is because, transformation and improvement of healthcare service to the populist should be treated with urgent attention and not lip service.
“Over the years, we have seen how top citizens had to travel abroad to receive treatment that could be administered in Nigeria. A case of not putting our houses in other. The history of leaders going overseas for treatments cannot be overemphasized. It puts a drain on foreign exchange that could be used for something more beneficial. This brings me to the need on why hospitals should be equipped with the modern and innovative technologies used in administering healthcare. One basic fact of life is that people are willing to pay so much for good services. This is why countries like India, Bangkok, Britain, USA, Saudi Arabia etc. earn good foreign exchange for their health sector and keep the labor force steady. People come from other parts of the world to receive cure for ailments which we could, and should provide for our people.
“We should become the new India of Africa. The number of people traveling to give birth to children overseas goes to buttress safety concerns that parents have over infant mortality among other concerns. You will agree with me that your colleague, late Sani Abacha twice called the hospitals mere “consulting clinics.” True, it was a mere consulting clinic then because very many trained doctors, pharmacist, radiologist and nurses found their way out of the country to render their services in foreign countries. These group of labor force have done very well in their chosen careers as can be attested to by their demands and conditions of services which is still in very high demand and discoveries made abroad.
“I am reminded by a friend with whom we agree and disagree, that your mandate was for security and corruption while other sectors should queue behind. Since notable people on both stratum of society has passed on whether locally or overseas, please give some attention to the already growing healthcare sectors demand that requires modern equipment’s to function properly. Consider equipping our hospitals with equipment needed to treat tooth, eyes, and ear aches of the teeming populations. For tooth ache where extraction was the vogue to solving the pain, root canal is now a solution, thereby protecting the teeth. The Radiological equipment needed to be used in early diagnosis and precise treatment of major ailments should be purchased. This will eliminate speculative treatment leading to unwarranted surgery and even death of people who probably might still be alive to give joy to families and contribute to nation-building.
“Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, as minister of health initiated the primary health system. Please correct me. This led to the building of small outlets and usages of allocated rooms in some communities across the nation where trained nurses could administer treatment not requiring surgery, while administering vaccines against tetanus, polio, measles, and malaria treatments. I do not know what the status is today, but like the growing society, I believe this aspect should be addressed as you look towards the bigger or larger picture of healthcare. Finally, PLEASE INTRODUCE A BILL BANNING OVERSEAS TREATMENT FOR YOU, YOUR MINISTERS, GOVERNORS AND LEGISLATORS USING GOVERNMENT FUNDS FOR TREATMENT OVERSEAS. EVERYONE SHOULD BE SUBJECTED TO THE SAME STANDARD AND SERVICES AS PART OF THE CHANGE.”
Like Smart Ofugara, I am sure many Nigerians are greatly disappointed, after six years of the Buhari’s administration journey in Government, and how they have treated the nation’s healthcare system. Even the nation’s lawmakers at the National Assembly, have not helped this matter at all. In fact, they seem to care less about what happens to the Nigeria’s healthcare system. Despite all the privileges that they enjoy as lawmakers, one would have expected these Nigerian Politicians at the National Assembly to be satisfied and contented, and as such drastically reduce their recurrent expenditure so as to create more funds for capital expenditure. But not so, as they obviously still see the nation’s yearly budget as another good opportunity to steal/misappropriate/mismanage public funds meant for the development of the Nigerian people.
These were my thoughts, when President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2021 budget of 13.08 trillion Naira estimate to the Joint National Assembly, which they tagged "budget of economic recovery and resilience." But the budget will have the National Assembly funded with N128 billion Naira, while the Nigerian health sector will get only N44.5 billion Naira. And I wondered how can this supposed to be a “budget of economic recovery and resilience” – when there is no element to suggest that the Government, as custodians of our collective wealth, has done anything SACRIFICIAL ON THEIR PART, to make this happen? How can they expect to keep funding for their ‘current pleasures’ in the face of a global pandemic era that has made life more difficult and trying for Nigerians, and expect to see things change? Are these people really sane or what?
With everything that has happened because of the Coronavirus pandemic, one would have thought that Nigerian political leaders will learn a vital lesson in life – which is: whatever hospitals and Health infrastructure that they refuse, or unwillingly to build/provide today with the nation’s resources, will one day come back to haunt them, or become their savior. And so, it is with every other sector in the country. Whatever schools, roads, housing, electricity supply, improved economy and standard of living; that they refuse/neglect/abandon/unwilling/disregard today or whenever they were/are in positions of power – will one day come back to haunt them and their future generations. That is one principle of life. These things have a way of coming back to haunt them. So, when a politician refuses to do what is expected of him when given the opportunity to serve in that public office, let him be reminded that posterity has a way of catching up with them! If not in their life time, it will be in the lifetime of their children, and children’s’ children.
Zik Gbemre.
April 24, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
WHERE ARE WE HEADING TO AS A NATION WITH OUR HEALTHCARE?
It is no news that Nigerians, have for decades, suffered from an inadequately funded health-care system, squalid clinics and hospitals, and poorly paid and overworked health care workers, most of whom frequently move abroad for better employment opportunities. There are at least 8,178 medical doctors of Nigerian origin working in the U.K., according to data on the U.K. General Medical Council website, a more 50% increase from 2015. Apparently, the exodus has worsened the already bad healthcare in a country that has one doctor for every 5,000 people, according to the Nigeria Medical Association.
With such disturbing prevailing situation in Nigeria’s healthcare system, one would have thought that any serious-minded Government that comes in, would do all that is within its power to address the health and mental wellbeing of its citizenry. Sadly, that has not been the case. What we have had and seen are political leaders who do not seem to care or concerned as much as they should, in addressing the problem in the nation’s health sector, especially for the common man.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari recently traveled to London for a “routine” medical check-up, and he left the country just two days before Nigerian doctors went on strike over unpaid salaries among other vital issues. For over two weeks President Buhari was in London, where he enjoyed uninterrupted electricity, traveled on good roads, and was taken good care of in a well-equipped hospital for his medical check-up – something that the majority of regular Nigerians do not get to enjoy or even have a taste of in most parts of their lives. Buhari’s last trip to London will be his first medical trip abroad since the pandemic, which stripped much of Africa’s elite of the option of flying to the U.K., France or India to see a doctor. And Buhari’s last trip will make it the 6th time in six years he has gone for such medical trip, which many have described as a complete waste of taxpayers’ money.
I have reiterated the fact that, what would be considered the greatest tragedy that would befall a nation, is that if after this whole Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic experience fades away and becomes history, Nigeria’s ailing health sector, as well as the policies and practices within/for that sector – remains unchanged from its deplorable status of not being able to address the healthcare needs of the Nigerian populace. It will be tragic, if, having gone through the turmoil and challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, which adversely affected every aspect of the Nigerian economy and peoples’ ways of life – our leaders refuse to wake up, or unwilling to focus on building world-standard health infrastructure that can compete with those in developed countries.
In the last two decades, we have seen Nigeria experience and witness so much wealth from oil and gas revenues and from other sectors as well, which sadly, our political leaders never judiciously used to transform the infrastructural needs and deficits in the country, especially in the nation’s Health Sector. Rather, our political leaders prefer to fly abroad for every of their medical needs – leaving the general populace to continue to suffer with the existing deplorable Health facilities across the country.
To say that the majority of Nigerians are greatly disappointed at the President Buhari-led Federal Government, would be putting it mildly, especially as regard their stand and actions toward addressing the healthcare issues in the country. And part of that disappointment was hinged on the fact that President Buhari had expressed and promised Nigerians that he would end medical tourism in the country, as one of his campaign promises for the 2015 Presidential elections. Many Nigerians had also advised Buhari to channel attention in addressing the nation’s healthcare system the same way he was gearing up to fight corruption in the polity.
Here is a personal letter written to Muhammadu Buhari on April 23, 2015 in this regard, by Smart Ofugara, a social reformer and advocate for good governance and development: “Healthcare for man through the ages had never taken the back seat. In ancient times, man knew what to do in his environment to address healthcare concerns. It was this progress that grew to the transformation been experienced with healthcare. The various facet of healthcare is so important that researches for cure and vaccines are top priority in the developed nations. Emerging market nations are not left out in this race. The issue of healthcare is so important that the attention it had received in the past needs to be revisited. This is because, transformation and improvement of healthcare service to the populist should be treated with urgent attention and not lip service.
“Over the years, we have seen how top citizens had to travel abroad to receive treatment that could be administered in Nigeria. A case of not putting our houses in other. The history of leaders going overseas for treatments cannot be overemphasized. It puts a drain on foreign exchange that could be used for something more beneficial. This brings me to the need on why hospitals should be equipped with the modern and innovative technologies used in administering healthcare. One basic fact of life is that people are willing to pay so much for good services. This is why countries like India, Bangkok, Britain, USA, Saudi Arabia etc. earn good foreign exchange for their health sector and keep the labor force steady. People come from other parts of the world to receive cure for ailments which we could, and should provide for our people.
“We should become the new India of Africa. The number of people traveling to give birth to children overseas goes to buttress safety concerns that parents have over infant mortality among other concerns. You will agree with me that your colleague, late Sani Abacha twice called the hospitals mere “consulting clinics.” True, it was a mere consulting clinic then because very many trained doctors, pharmacist, radiologist and nurses found their way out of the country to render their services in foreign countries. These group of labor force have done very well in their chosen careers as can be attested to by their demands and conditions of services which is still in very high demand and discoveries made abroad.
“I am reminded by a friend with whom we agree and disagree, that your mandate was for security and corruption while other sectors should queue behind. Since notable people on both stratum of society has passed on whether locally or overseas, please give some attention to the already growing healthcare sectors demand that requires modern equipment’s to function properly. Consider equipping our hospitals with equipment needed to treat tooth, eyes, and ear aches of the teeming populations. For tooth ache where extraction was the vogue to solving the pain, root canal is now a solution, thereby protecting the teeth. The Radiological equipment needed to be used in early diagnosis and precise treatment of major ailments should be purchased. This will eliminate speculative treatment leading to unwarranted surgery and even death of people who probably might still be alive to give joy to families and contribute to nation-building.
“Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, as minister of health initiated the primary health system. Please correct me. This led to the building of small outlets and usages of allocated rooms in some communities across the nation where trained nurses could administer treatment not requiring surgery, while administering vaccines against tetanus, polio, measles, and malaria treatments. I do not know what the status is today, but like the growing society, I believe this aspect should be addressed as you look towards the bigger or larger picture of healthcare. Finally, PLEASE INTRODUCE A BILL BANNING OVERSEAS TREATMENT FOR YOU, YOUR MINISTERS, GOVERNORS AND LEGISLATORS USING GOVERNMENT FUNDS FOR TREATMENT OVERSEAS. EVERYONE SHOULD BE SUBJECTED TO THE SAME STANDARD AND SERVICES AS PART OF THE CHANGE.”
Like Smart Ofugara, I am sure many Nigerians are greatly disappointed, after six years of the Buhari’s administration journey in Government, and how they have treated the nation’s healthcare system. Even the nation’s lawmakers at the National Assembly, have not helped this matter at all. In fact, they seem to care less about what happens to the Nigeria’s healthcare system. Despite all the privileges that they enjoy as lawmakers, one would have expected these Nigerian Politicians at the National Assembly to be satisfied and contented, and as such drastically reduce their recurrent expenditure so as to create more funds for capital expenditure. But not so, as they obviously still see the nation’s yearly budget as another good opportunity to steal/misappropriate/mismanage public funds meant for the development of the Nigerian people.
These were my thoughts, when President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2021 budget of 13.08 trillion Naira estimate to the Joint National Assembly, which they tagged "budget of economic recovery and resilience." But the budget will have the National Assembly funded with N128 billion Naira, while the Nigerian health sector will get only N44.5 billion Naira. And I wondered how can this supposed to be a “budget of economic recovery and resilience” – when there is no element to suggest that the Government, as custodians of our collective wealth, has done anything SACRIFICIAL ON THEIR PART, to make this happen? How can they expect to keep funding for their ‘current pleasures’ in the face of a global pandemic era that has made life more difficult and trying for Nigerians, and expect to see things change? Are these people really sane or what?
With everything that has happened because of the Coronavirus pandemic, one would have thought that Nigerian political leaders will learn a vital lesson in life – which is: whatever hospitals and Health infrastructure that they refuse, or unwillingly to build/provide today with the nation’s resources, will one day come back to haunt them, or become their savior. And so, it is with every other sector in the country. Whatever schools, roads, housing, electricity supply, improved economy and standard of living; that they refuse/neglect/abandon/unwilling/disregard today or whenever they were/are in positions of power – will one day come back to haunt them and their future generations. That is one principle of life. These things have a way of coming back to haunt them. So, when a politician refuses to do what is expected of him when given the opportunity to serve in that public office, let him be reminded that posterity has a way of catching up with them! If not in their life time, it will be in the lifetime of their children, and children’s’ children.
Zik Gbemre.
April 24, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes