INvFS1 INC><:G>62010

COMMUNICATIONS AND THE INTELLECTUAL ECONOMY

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Nigerias healthcare sector is
ripe for transformation and
opportunities for investors
are opening up
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Nigerian healIh secIor would be besI illusIraIed
by exposing Ihe presenI healIhcare siIuaIion - Ihe
presenI realiIy and goals. 1he iniIiaIives Ior reaching
Ihose goals involve Ihe need Ior huge Lnancial
ouIlays IhaI presenI Ihe invesImenI opporIuniIies.
In his paper delivered aI a high-level Iorum on
healIh in Abuja on 9 November 2009, `HealIh SecIor
Analysis in Nigeria: ImplemenIing Ihe HealIh SecIor
ComponenI oI vision 2020`, Ihe Ihen-Iederal minisIer
oI healIh, ProIessor BabaIunde OsoIimehin said: II is
evidenI IhaI our currenI healIh siIuaIion is deplorable
and unaccepIable. We need Io move Irom caIaloguing
problems Io proIIering and implemenIing soluIions
Ihrough eIIecIive implemenIaIion oI Ihe healIh secIor
componenI oI vision 2020.
1he review oI Ihe currenI healIh siIuaIion shows
IhaI we are presenIly noI on course in Ihe achievemenI
oI Ihe healIh-relaIed Millennium DevelopmenI
Coal, [MDC| by 201b. 1he evidence Irom available
inIormaIion indicaIes unequivocally IhaI Ihe average
healIh sIaIus oI our ciIizens is unaccepIable.
1he sIaIisIics which Ihe honorable minisIer,
himselI a ProIessor oI Medicine, read Io his audience
simply conLrm Ihe sad siIuaIion oI healIhcare in
Nigeria. Some oI Ihese sIaIisIics need repeaIing
here Io underscore Ior Ihe prospecIive invesIor Ihe
immense gap beIween Ihe realiIy on Ihe ground and
Ihe goals which also indicaIe Ihe equally immense
open opporIuniIies. 1he average number oI hospiIal
beds in Ihe public secIor is 9.2 per 10,000. Nigeria
has only 1.6 public primary healIhcare IaciliIies per
10,000 people, and Iagos has Ihe lowesI number
oI primary care IaciliIies, perhaps because Ihere is
INvFS1 INC><:G>62010
COMMUNICATIONS AND THE INTELLECTUAL ECONOMY
privaIe secIor dominance in Ihe sIaIe, which Ihe raIe
here does noI reecI. 1he availabiliIy oI volunIary
counselling and IesIing (vC1), prevenIion oI moIher
Io child Iransmission (PM1C1), and anIi- reIroviral
Iherapy (AR1) services in Ihe public secIor are very
limiIed, wiIh only abouI 1 per cenI oI all public secIor
IaciliIies reporIing IhaI Ihey provide PM1C1 or AR1
services, and 2.2 per cenI reporIing any vC1 service.
ProIessor OsoIimehin was also seriously concerned
abouI Ihe inadequaIe laboraIory service supporI,
wiIhouI which overall healIh service delivery would
be hampered. 1he Lndings oI an assessmenI by Ihe
Federal MinisIry oI HealIh IhaI jusI above 6 per cenI
oI public secIor IaciliIies had laboraIory service, is
also cause Ior concern.
ProIessor OsoIimehin was admiIIing Ihe obvious,
and like some oIhers involved in Nigeria`s healIhcare,
aIIribuIed Ihe siIuaIion Io among oIher Ihings,
inadequaIe and poorly mainIained IaciliIies,
unaccepIable raIio oI docIors Io paIienIs and
ineILcienI service delivery.
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Nigeria ranks low in Ihe Human DevelopmenI
IndicaIors Ior healIh. Policymakers Iear IhaI MDC
IargeIs will be missed. 1he governmenI`s sIraIegy Io
remedy Ihe siIuaIion is parI oI Ihe vision 2020 policy
discussion. vision 2020 is a Ien-year plan Io grow Ihe
economy Io be one oI Ihe 20 biggesI in Ihe world by
Ihe year 2020.
1o achieve Ihese goals, Ihe governmenI would
ensure IhaI Ihere is proper co-ordinaIion among all
sIakeholders. 1he NaIional HealIh Bill, (May 2008) is
expecIed Io clariIy sIrucIure, roles and responsibiliIies
aI each level, and will give legal backing Io a Iunding
mechanism. Drugs and vaccines should be wiIhin
reach, physically and Lnancially, by increasing local
producIion Irom 40 per cenI Io 80 per cenI oI naIional
need. 1he currenI low coverage oI Ihe NaIional HealIh
Insurance Scheme (NHIS), and Ihe CommuniIy HealIh
Insurance would be expanded. 1he general iniIiaIives
include, buI are noI limiIed Io:
Ihe provision oI one adequaIely sIaIIed and
equipped primary healIhcare IaciliIy in each ward;
provision oI adequaIe inIrasIrucIure and well
mainIained equipmenI Ihrough parInership wiIh
Ihe privaIe secIor;
greaIer secondary and IerIiary healIhcare
coverage wiIh one general hospiIal in each oI
Ihe 4 local governmenI areas wiIh specialisIs
in surgery, paediaIrics, medicine, and obsIeIrics
and gynaecology. All Ieaching hospiIals, Iederal
medical cenIres, specialisI cenIres and general
hospiIals would be re-equipped;
inIensiLcaIion oI Ihe Polio FradicaIion IniIiaIive;
provision oI well-equipped ambulance services IhaI
are capable oI emergency IreaImenI oI casualIies
on Ihe way Io Ihe recepIion cenIres;
increase in Ihe raIio oI docIor Io paIienI; and
provision oI adequaIe and reliable laboraIory
supporI (resulIs Irom many privaIe secIor
laboraIories are unreliable).
Discussions wiIh Ihose in Ihe Leld reveal general
agreemenI wiIh Ihe posiIion oI Ihe minisIer, and
vision 2020. DocIors advise parIicularly IhaI any
invesIor in Ihe healIhcare secIor should give due
consideraIion Io Ihe developmenI and provision oI
child and maIernal healIh equipmenI, orIhopaedic
cenIres and equipmenI, co-operaIion wiIh reIerring
clinics and hospiIals and equipping inIensive
care uniIs.
1here is also a need Ior Ihe developmenI oI
specialisI cenIres where non-residenI specialisIs
may come Io perIorm procedures aI a Iee,
comprehensive healIh screening IaciliIies, hospiIal
managemenI services and Ihe provision oI capaciIy
building supporI.
Nigeria is also suIIering Irom a lack oI worksiIe
clinics and invesIigaIive equipmenI. Abuja has only
Iwo MRI machines and communiIy healIh is poor.
II is clear IhaI so much is required Io be done IhaI
many opporIuniIies exisI Ior Ihe willing invesIor,
who musI have an enabling environmenI conducive
Io doing business.
1he parIicipaIion oI Ihe privaIe secIor Io achieve
Ihe objecIives in vision 2020 is imperaIive, hence
governmenI eIIorI Io esIablish a compeIiIive and
invesIor-Iriendly environmenI.
Doing business in Nigeria is noI wiIhouI iIs
challenges, buI Ihey are noI disabling, especially
as Ihe IhrusI oI governmenI policy is Io eliminaIe
or minimise Ihem. ComplainIs are usually abouI
poor inIrasIrucIure, limiIed access Io Iunding,
corrupIion, inaIion, crime, ineILcienI bureaucracy,
Iax raIes, poor public healIh and Ioreign currency
regulaIion. 1he governmenI, in iIs sIeady drive
Iowards a markeI economy, is making a susIained
eIIorI Io address Ihe problem by such agencies as
Ihe Fconomic and Financial Crimes Commission,
and Ihe IndependenI CorrupI PracIices Commission.
1he Iwo agencies work Io LghI corrupIion boIh in
Ihe public and privaIe secIors. ReIorms are also
underway in Ihe Lnancial and banking secIor,
including currency regulaIion and repaIriaIion
oI proLIs. 1he governmenI has also seI up Ihe
Nigerian InvesImenI PromoIion Commission, which
includes a one-sIop invesImenI cenIre Io ease Ihe
invesImenI process.
DespiIe Ihese challenges, Ihere are many
invesImenI opporIuniIies in Nigeria`s healIh secIor.
II`s an open Leld.
Volunteer Health ofcials wait to
immunise children at a school in
Nigerias capital Abuja
VISION 2020
FOCUS ON HEATHCARE
To reduce the infant mortality rate to 7.5% by s
2020, which is currently 300 per 100,000.
To reduce under-ve mortality from 189 per s
1,000 to 75.
To reduce under-ve malnutrition from 53% to s
less than 20% by 2015.
To increase life expectancy of Nigerians from 47 s
years to 70.
To reduce HIV/AIDS prevalence. s