GE Health of Nations: Nigeria

You must have heard the report created by Economist Intelligence Unit for GE in order to access how countries are positioned to meet the critical healthcare challenges facing them in the years ahead. The developed world will continue to access cost efficiency- that high cost does not mean good healthcare delivery; firms that take better care of their workers tend to outperform the market; healthcare is a long-term national strategy, etc.

But in mother Nigeria, we are still trying to solve problems that have since been removed in the dictionary of most modern world. TB, polio, malaria, etc are all problems. Enjoy this from GE and visit the site for more in-depth details.

Spending overview

Total expenditure on healthcare in Nigeria was an estimated 2.6% of GDP in 2008, of which around 70% was spent in the private sector. At around US$28 per head, spending on healthcare in Nigeria was lower than in most other Sub-Saharan countries. Indeed, the UN Human Development Report 2009 ranks Nigeria in 189th position (out of 194 countries) in relation to public expenditure on health as a share of total government expenditure. Average annual growth in total healthcare spending in both naira and dollar terms is expected to be positive over the medium term, in line with robust macroeconomic growth prospects. Nevertheless, as a proportion of GDP, healthcare spending will remain very low.

One factor that has boosted the funds flowing into the healthcare sector in recent years has been the introduction of a National Health Insurance Scheme, which was officially launched nationwide in June 2005. Workers pay up to 5% of their salary into the scheme in order to qualify for free treatment for themselves, a spouse and up to four children (diseases that require costly treatment, such as cancer and HIV/AIDS, are excluded from the scheme). Contributions are voluntary for most workers but compulsory for those in the public sector. Those not in formal employment can join the scheme by forming into socially cohesive groups and paying a fixed fee.

Policy overview

The backlog of work that needs to be carried out on the healthcare system, coupled with the growing demands on it, will ensure that the state health sector remains seriously under-funded, with many hospitals and clinics in poor condition. This will continue to contribute to the drain of key healthcare workers from Nigeria. The Nigerian education system does produce a substantial number of medical students; however, many of them seek further education/qualifications overseas, where they often remain for their entire working life. The president, Umaru Yar’adua, in mid-2009 approved the establishment of four world-class healthcare centres in the country before the end of the year, along with the recruitment of an additional 10,000 new midwives. Such rhetoric from the government is familiar, however, and implementation of key healthcare projects tends to be slow at best.

Increased government spending has gone on providing new facilities, largely in primary healthcare. However, government facilities lack modern medical equipment, have poorly qualified staff and suffer shortages of drugs. Although government-funded primary healthcare centres account for the majority of medical facilities in Nigeria, the private sector provides the majority of secondary healthcare facilities.

The new health minister, Babatunde Osotimehin, was previously the director-general of the Nigeria National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, and his policy priorities include better co-ordination of the distribution of international donor funds, curbing the spread of HIV by increasing the anti-retroviral drug (ARV) rollout and plans to give greater importance to routine immunisations.

Diseases overview

Low levels of public funding and underinvestment in the healthcare sector have resulted in poor health facilities and poor basic health indicators: average life expectancy in Nigeria is low and infant mortality is high. These indicators are much worse in the poorer sections of society. Nigeria’s underdeveloped healthcare sector is struggling to combat a wide range of infectious diseases. Nigeria is one of the few countries in the world where polio is still an issue, and cholera, malaria, tuberculosis and hepatitis are all common. In addition, as with many African countries, Nigeria is facing a huge potential health crisis caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Nearly 3m people in Nigeria are living with HIV/AIDS, with a prevalence rate of 3.1%: after South Africa, Nigeria rivals India for the second-highest rate of infection in the world.

In June 2006 the government launched a five-year scheme to reduce malaria, including better use of insecticide-treated nets. Although the government says that it is making headway in tuberculosis treatment, a recent World Health Organisation report found that Nigeria had the fifth-largest number of tuberculosis cases in the world in 2006.  The government will also continue to implement its Count Down to Polio eradication plan, which it hopes will soon lead to the end of the disease in Nigeria—possibly by the end of 2010—although given the size of the country and its large population, outbreaks of polio are expected to continue for some years to come, as it will take a number of years for immunisation levels to reach critical mass.

Source: Visit GE Health of Nations for more

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