Why Ambition For Better Health Infrastructure Will Remain An Illusion In Nigeria

If there is an issue of national concern wherein the saying that if “A child says his or her mother’s food is not delicious, then he can be considered not to be a true child of the mother” has found expression, it is unarguably that of medical tourism which most Nigerian leaders are wont to embark on. They embark on the journey with a flip of the finger, either to countries in Europe, North America or Asia, particularly India which is reputed to have well-equipped hospitals in abundance.

Without any iota of exaggeration, Nigeria’s public health systems are in a depressing condition. Preventable diseases still kill a large number of women and children, people travel long distances to receive health care, and across the country, patients sleep on hospital floors. On top of this, Nigeria’s health professionals emigrate in droves to search for greener pastures.

It is therefore not surprising that rich Nigerians, particularly politicians travel abroad for their medical needs. As gathered, medical tourism statistics in Nigeria shows that $1.25 billion US dollars are spent in a year by medical tourists; who are majorly politicians and businessmen. Not only that, every month 9000 medical tourist globally are statistically said to be from Nigeria, out of which 5000 tourists visit India for medical tourism monthly. No doubt, the growth in medical tourism in Nigeria is 20% per year. This is as 95% of Nigerians travel to South Asia for medical tourism, and there are 75% of cash paying, 15% of government-paid, 6% of the insurance company and 4% of an employer-paid medical tourist.

It can be argued that private citizens opting to seek medical help in other countries do not owe the public any explanation, because it is their own affair. But medical tourism among Nigeria’s political elite is a completely different kettle of fish and a big cause for concern, because they are responsible for the development of proper health care for Nigerians.

It is an open secret that most Nigerian politicians from across the 36 states including the FCT capital, Abuja, go abroad for medical treatment. The reasons for exercising this choice are obvious: they lack confidence in the health systems they oversee, and they can afford the trips given that the expenses are paid for by taxpayers.

The result is that they have little motivation to change the status quo. Medical tourism by Nigerian leaders and politicians could therefore be one of the salient but overlooked causes of Nigeria’s poor health systems and infrastructure.

There are records of some Nigerian leaders that died abroad while seeking treatment, and had to be flown home at huge expense. Without resort to giving the government a bad name, it ought not to be so. However, there are few fortunate ones that made it home, but died shortly afterwards.

The picture painted above is shameful. As long as Nigeria’s leaders keep going abroad for medical reasons, the ambition for better health infrastructure will remain an illusion.

Pitiable enough, rich people in Nigeria that have undeniably become medical tourists pay heavy cost for this unpatriotic behavior as it is estimated that the fundsthey spent to treat themselves in foreign lands every year could build more, and better equipped hospitals for both the rich and the poor in the country, particularly when the bills are subsidized.

Not only do the leaders travel with elaborate entourages, but they also travel in expensive chartered or presidential jets. For example, the cost of parking Buhari’s plane during his three month spell in London was estimated to be at £360,000. That is equivalent to about 0.07% of Nigeria’s N304 billion budget allocation for health this year. And there would have been many other heavier costs incurred during his stay.

The failure of leaders to improve health care and stem brain drain also carries a heavy price. As gathered from statistics just made available in this month of April, 2022, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Professor Innocent Ujah, stated during the Maiden NMA Annual Lecture Series in Abuja that Nigeria lost over 9,000 medical doctors to the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America between 2016 and 2018. Ujah added at the maiden lecture which has the theme, “Brain Drain and Medical Tourism: The Twin evil in Nigeria’s Health System” that the loss left Nigeria with only 4.7 per cent of its specialists to service the healthcare needs of the population, saying this does not portray the country in good light.

On top of this, Nigerian hospitals that were previously world class have been reduced to symbolic edifices due to political negligence. For example, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) was once deemed to be one of the best on the continent. Recently, it was criticized for decadence.

Essentially, when people that are charged with responsibility feel they have no need for public health systems because they can afford private health care at home or abroad, ordinary citizens bear the brunt.

At this juncture, it is expedient to ask, “Which way forward?” The answer to the foregoing cannot be farfetched as it is apt to opine that the effective health systems in western and Asian countries that are beenpatronized by African leaders only exist because they were developed, and are consistently maintained, through political commitment and visionary leadership, qualities that are clearly lacking in Africa.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to say that to bring change, Nigerian citizens must start condemning political medical tourism. They must also push for regulations to curb the shameful practice. Taxpayer funded medical trips should be banned and criteria set detailing what sicknesses that can be covered by the public purse. Though a law to this effect exists in Nigeria, it appears to be ineffective. It must, and should work.

Essentially, if the leaders do not experience the poor state of health care, they might never strive for any positive changes to it.

Sandra Ijeoma Okoye (Author)