UCH Embraces Renewed Hope Amidst Daunting Challenges
Tajudeen Kareem
The story is told that six decades ago, the Saudi monarch brought their sickness to Nigeria seeking medical care. Even so, presently Nigerians in diaspora are coming back home for surgery and treatment of difficult ailments.
Writing on their twitter handles, respectable Nigerians living abroad attest to the fact that despite all the seeming challenges buffeting the health sector here, Nigerian hospitals, indeed medical professionals are no push overs.
The following submissions on twitter, X, are sobering. Dr Simi Official on @ simisola10 said people now leave the UK to get medical care in Nigeria. In reaction, Bashorun Oduduwa @ AEAdeola said: “Because there is no waiting time in Nigeria and Nigeria healthcare professionals are well trained. We need to amplify the good things about Nigeria more than the bad ones.” Abimbola King @ Harbimborlar gave his verdict: “This is 100 percent true. I knew a doctor who went to Nigeria for his surgery cos he cannot wait for 12 months. Nigeria will be better.”
But one Dr Gabriel O. Apata, lecturer, education consultant and policy analyst, who resides in the UK, would rather pillory Nigeria’s tertiary hospitals and deride them as mere general hospitals. He resides in the UK, an illustrious member of the “Japa family”. Apata’s criticism of UCH were based on mere generalisation. He ought to have given specific instances to substantiate his claims!
No one will rightly say the health care sector in Nigeria has attained the ideal status. However, there is no denying the fact that there are genuine efforts to improve on the system and respond to emergent challenges, including inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, and a shortage of skilled healthcare professionals. Above all there are competing demands from no less critical sectors namely education, defence, social infrastructure, among others.
In the 2024 budget, the Federal Government has allocated N1.33 trillion or 4.8 per cent to the health sector, up from N1.17 trillion budgeted last year. This gesture must be complimented by sub-national governments to keep Nigerians healthier.
Moreso, the Federal Government has rolled out the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative described by Minister of Health and Social Development, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate as “a comprehensive plan to revitalize the country’s healthcare sector.”
Pate recognised the urgent need to invest in healthcare infrastructure, human resources and technology to provide accessible, affordable and quality healthcare services to all Nigerians. This initiative aims to address the existing gaps in the healthcare system and improve the overall health outcomes for Nigerians.
The key objectives of the initiative are to improve the physical infrastructure of healthcare facilities across the country, including renovating existing healthcare centers, building new hospitals and equipping them with modern medical equipment.
The shortage of skilled healthcare professionals has been a significant challenge in the country.
“The initiative plans to address this issue by investing in the training and recruitment of healthcare workers. This includes providing scholarships and incentives for medical students, improving the working conditions for healthcare professionals, and attracting Nigerian diaspora healthcare workers to return to the country,” said the minister.
Recognizing the importance of primary healthcare in preventing and managing diseases, the initiative would focus on strengthening primary healthcare centers across the country. Top is improving the availability of essential drugs, expanding immunization coverage, and implementing community health programs to promote preventive healthcare practices.
To sustain the improvements in the healthcare sector, the initiative will place emphasis on sustainable financing., by exploring innovative financing mechanisms, improving budget allocation to healthcare, and encouraging private sector participation in healthcare investments.
Indeed, experts and critics as Apata have agreed that Nigeria cannot continue to run a heath sector system where patients have to look for cash each time they fall sick or have to attend a health facility. On the reverse plane is the fact that government cannot provide free health care services! Indeed, the most pragmatic approach is to fast-track the coverage of health insurance in the country where population as peaked at 250 million.
While scaling up health insurance cover, government must also examine the need for Public-Private-Partnerships in running all tertiary and general hospitals nationwide.
Garki Hospital, Abuja, is owned by the FCT administration but run by Nisa Premier Hospital under a PPP arrangement. It was accredited by the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, in 2008 and currently has one of the largest number of enrollees in the FCT and the only PPP that accepts secondary referrals from other health facilities.
The hospital is also the only facility that carries out specialized surgery under the NHIS scheme. The hospital has over 187,000 patients registered on Electronic Medical Record application, 33,906 NHIS enrollees spread across 55 Health Maintenance Organizations, HMO. Under the FCT Health Service Scheme, the hospital attends to 8139 enrollees from three HMOs, its Private Health Insurance Scheme has 1831 enrollees spread across 35 organizations and it offers corporate services to 10,502 persons from 16 registered organizations.
A few months ago, the Federal Government announced the expansion of the health insurance system with the launch of a new health insurance package, Group Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme, GIFSHIP.