FG urged to declare health emergency amid rising medical tourism
Story by Emmanuel OLOGUN, Abuja
As Nigerians continue to grapple with poor and inadequate services in hospitals and health centres nationwide, a concerned specialist in health economics has advised the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the health sector to enable policymakers to thoroughly reform healthcare services for better performance.
Professor Joseph A. S. Obansa of the Department of Economics, Yakubu Gowon University, formerly (University of Abuja) decried the continued neglect of the nation’s health sector by successive administrations and the attendant loss of essential manpower as a result of job insecurity and frustration among health workers, especially doctors and nurses, who have been migrating abroad in droves in search of greener pastures.
The most effective way to solve the problems of the health sector to get better service delivery, according to Professor Obansa, include an immediate ban medical tourism by public officials especially the president, vice president, governors, deputy governors, every high ranking policy maker and other government officials who waste millions of public funds seeking better healthcare services abroad while allowing Nigerian hospitals to remain in deplorable states.
Professor Obansa, who spoke at the 48th Inaugural Lecture of the university held in Gwagwalada, Abuja on the topic: “Health is Wealth,” stated that a complete reform, overhaul and upgrade of the nation’s health sector has become necessary to bring our hospitals and health centres at the same level as foreign healthcare facilities to enhance their capacity to tackle rising diseases and other health challenges facing Nigerians.
He remarked that some health challenges have increased lately due to poor equipment, improper management and inadequate vaccines in hospitals and he listed them as HIV/AIDS, kidney failures, Tuberculosis, Malaria and River Blindness among others.
Prof. Obansa also called for the purchase of modern equipment and increased funding of the health sector apart from also advocating for proper government subsidy interventions to cushion the cost of medical treatment by citizens, particularly among patients with terminal illnesses.
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Obansa commended the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for her relentless health advocacy and for urging tuberculosis patients to seek treatment for the disease, which he emphasised remains curable with proper medical treatment.
The professor pointed out that a sustained public enlightenment campaign like the one embarked upon by Mrs Tinubu will go a long way in reducing or completely eradicating communicable diseases from the nation.
In an interview after the lecture, he reiterated the need for the Federal Government to take decisive action on the deplorable state of the nation’s healthcare system by properly equipping hospitals and increasing funding for drugs and other medical consumables, pointing out that “when our hospitals and health centres are working optimally with state-of-art modern equipment to save lives, nobody will bother to fly abroad for checkups or treatment and the nation will earn more money when medical tourism vanishes.
There is a need for the government to declare an emergency in the health care sector because many doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers are leaving and going abroad for high salaries and working conditions.
“Their salaries and allowances should be increased because their counterparts overseas are earning so much and cannot compare themselves with those in Nigeria. The brain drain can be halted when Nigeria musters the political will to improve the system,” Prof. Obansa reiterated.
Earlier, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Mathew Adamu acknowledged that the Federal Government has
renamed the University of Abuja after General Yakubu Gowon, and that the institution will henceforth be known as Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja.
Professor Adamu extolled the landmark achievements of the founding fathers of the university and while particularly praising Prof. Obansa, he also stated that the Inaugural Lecture series will be sustained because it enables members of the academic community to critique issues and interrogate pressing social problems with a view to finding solutions to such matters for the overall benefit of the larger society.
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