65 years on: Nigeria’s health system still struggles to deliver – Lagos NMA

By Chioma Obinna

Sixty-five years aft Nigeria gained independence, the country’s wellness strategy remains mostly underdeveloped, struggling to conscionable the healthcare needs of its population, the Chairman, Lagos State Branch of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Dr Sahedd Babajide has said.

He said that contempt assorted reforms and investments implicit the decades, the assemblage is inactive riddled with challenges that hinder effectual work transportation and equitable entree to prime care.

A large interest is the persistent Japa syndrome, the wide exit of healthcare professionals seeking amended opportunities abroad. According to the Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Lagos State, this encephalon drain continues owed to “lack of precedence oregon involvement successful resolving the contented of Japa syndrome by the authorities astatine each levels.”

He stressed that reversing this inclination requires “commensurate remuneration and implementation of non-taxable telephone work allowance, robust payment packages, training, retraining and research, infrastructural development, and a conducive situation successful presumption of carnal structure, intelligence engagement, empathy, communication, care, etc.”

“Healthcare financing successful Nigeria is different important challenge. The national and authorities governments consistently allocate lone betwixt 4 and 6 percent of their budgets to health—far beneath the 15 percent recommended successful the 2001 Abuja Declaration. This inadequate backing is often misdirected to “elephant projects that person small oregon nary interaction connected the generality of the populace,” Babajide observed.

The country’s superior healthcare system, which should service arsenic the backbone of wellness work delivery, remains neglected. He warned, “Total and unfortunate deficiency of involvement successful the superior healthcare system” undermines the wide betterment and improvement of secondary and tertiary healthcare delivery.

Structural deficiencies successful wellness institutions compound the problem. Many facilities endure from mediocre instrumentality and consumables, creating “an situation that is mostly not conducive for some healthcare professionals and the patients,” Babajide noted. “Furthermore, Nigeria remains poorly prepared for emergencies including disasters & epidemics similar flooding, infectious diseases.”

Continuing, helium lamented that: “Medical tourism continues to drain resources, yet determination is “minimal oregon nary committedness and governmental volition by applicable stakeholders to effect a turnaround,” helium added.

He said: “The payment of healthcare workers is besides a captious issue, with poor, inadequate, and worthless remuneration and  inadequate oregon deficiency of training, retraining, and inadequate probe with dire consequences for optimal welfare.”

To code these challenges, Babajide outlined cardinal reforms needed.

He called for betterment and standardisation of the superior healthcare system, secondary and tertiary healthcare systems alongside a decently structured healthcare transportation system.

He besides stressed the request for due and capable healthcare finance

involving budgetary allocations, prudent fiscal management, and a seamless cheque and equilibrium strategy with unhindered procurement and auditing processes.

He besides emphasised the value of due and hierarchical vocation progression without immoderate signifier of bias and the assignment of “competent doctors arsenic Ministers, Commissioners, MDs, CMDs, with integrity, humility, commitment, passionateness and empathy for the aesculapian assemblage arsenic non-negotiable qualities.

On the infrastructural front, Babajide urged the authorities to physique Infectious Disease Hospitals (IDH) & Trauma Centres successful each authorities of the federation and FCT” and “multi-specialty wellness facilities that volition instrumentality attraction of antithetic fields of medicine specified arsenic paediatrics, renal care, cardiac, cancer, and neurosurgery centres. These developments, helium said, volition “reduce aesculapian tourism.

He besides stressed the request for betterment successful the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to heighten coverage, outgo to healthcare providers, and betterment successful the prime of services.

He regretted that successful Lagos State, contempt immoderate progress, overmuch remains to beryllium done.

Babajide highlighted priorities specified arsenic betterment successful the remuneration for the healthcare workers and reinstatement of the pre-April 2025 wage standard and implementation of non-taxable telephone work allowance.

He...