The World Health Organization’s most recent data indicates that Nigeria has one of the worst healthcare systems in the world. Living in a nation without an ambulance or a straightforward toll-free number like 999 to call in an emergency, Nigerians wouldn’t be surprised. The likelihood of surviving a heart attack is quite low in Nigeria.
The average Nigerian is lucky he can reach 60 years old. People generally live longer, and the average life expectancy in the world is 73 years. Nigeria is one of the four countries with the lowest life expectancy in the world, with a life expectancy of 55 years. While Nigeria’s elite has turned to the UK and Dubai for medical care, Nigeria’s health sector has suffered from severe underfunding for decades. Even the most important person in Nigeria refuses to take advantage of the healthcare system he oversees. Instead, he openly used a medical facility that his British colleagues built at great expense for the Nigerian government’s coffers.
It may be too harsh, but some say that hospitals in Nigeria are places where people die. The Nigerian public health system, characterized by a shortage of medicines and poor access to medical aid and specialists, appears to have accepted the risk of premature death if one is unfortunately diagnosed with a serious illness.
Except for a few elite private hospitals, the majority of Nigerian hospitals are empty examination rooms. Even compassion is lacking as the poor bear the brunt of harsh treatment from medical staff who are overwhelmed by the daily influx of patients in need of care.
Nearly 100 million people living in poverty in Nigeria are effectively excluded from the health care system, as patients pay for the entire cost of treatment. But hospitals claim they will have to close if they can’t fully reimburse their patients for treatment without adequate government support.
Nearly two-thirds of the Nigerian population lives in extreme poverty and cannot afford the deposits required for very serious medical conditions before treatment can begin, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
To meet the 15% target set in the 2001 Abuja Declaration on Health Sector Improvement, the World Health Organization (WHO) has advocated increased funding for Nigeria’s health sector. Dr. Walter Mulombo, the WHO representative for Nigeria, made this clear during a press conference with journalists in Abuja.
He said that in April 2001 African Union leaders had committed at least 15% of their annual budget to improve the health sector.
“In Nigeria, he has been proposed to devote 15% of the total national budget to health. We are still far from that target,” he said.
Dr. Mulombo also pointed out that the sector lacks adequate funding, especially compared to other sectors such as defense and military. He argues that access to a healthy life is a basic human right and that the more sane the government’s decisions, not the luxuries and consumer goods, the better off citizens’ lives will be.