Shock as President Buhari laments medical tourism

• Says Nigeria loses over N400 billion annually

By Lillian Okenwa

Many were left in shock when President Mohammadu Buhari said last week that his government’s inability to address various health challenges has resulted in increasing medical tourism in which Nigeria loses over N400 billion on annual bases. 

He made this disclosure last Thursday during the inauguration of Senior Executive Course 41, 2019 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Kuru, Plateau State with the theme “Funding Universal Health Care Delivery in Nigeria.”

The President posited that his government has shown strong commitment in the revitalization of the health sector adding that in spite of this, the sector was still characterized by low response to public health emergencies, inability to combat an outbreak of deadly diseases and mass migration of medical personnel out of the country.

“Government has shown strong commitment in the revitalization of the health sector. These efforts notwithstanding, our health sector is still characterized by low response to the public health emergencies, inability to combat the outbreak of deadly diseases and mass migration of medical personnel out of the country. This has resulted in increasing medical tourism by Nigerians in which Nigeria loses N400 billion on an annual basis,” he said.

President Buhari who was represented by Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State said his government had in January this year flagged off Primary Healthcare Revitalisation Programme with the aim of having 10,000 functional primary healthcare facilities with at least one functional healthcare facility in every political ward across the country.

Coming from a president who spent all his medical vacations in Europe in the last four years, several minds were agitated as to what exactly he was talking about.

Judge Egbas of Pulse Nigeria, chronicles his odyssey.J

“Here’s a timeline of Buhari’s health travels.

February 5, 2016

Buhari embarks on a six-day medical vacation to London.

June 6, 2016

Buhari takes to the skies for a 10-day medical vacation.

Presidency says Buhari has to travel to deal with a ‘persistent ear infection.’

January 19, 2017

Buhari is off to London again on a medical vacation.

February 5, 2017

Buhari writes the national assembly, asks lawmakers to extend his London medical leave.

March 10, 2017

Buhari returns to Nigeria but doesn’t resume work immediately. Presidency says ‘he’s working from home.’

May 7, 2017

Buhari embarks on trip to London for another medical vacation. He returns after 104 days.

August 19, 2017

Buhari returns to Nigeria and it takes him a while to resume work because rats have reportedly damaged furniture in his office.

Presidency announces he’ll be working from home.

May 8, 2018

Buhari is off to London for ‘medical review’—another name for a medical vacation.

It is his 5th medical trip since he was inaugurated president on May 29, 2015.”

In April 2016, Buhari reportedly told the nation that he does not favour medical tourism and that he would not encourage the political class to do so.

“While this administration will not deny anyone of his or her fundamental human rights, we will certainly not encourage expending Nigerian hard-earned resources on any government official seeking medical care abroad, when such can be handled in Nigeria”, Buhari said, according to a statement from the Health Ministry at the time.

More worrisome is that Prof. Isaac Adewole, Nigeria’s health minister after close to four years in office can hardly lay claim to any significant impact on the country’s health sector. In the last few years, various medical unions, including the Nigerian Medical Association, which he belongs to, raised questions about his effectiveness in office.

Within the last four years, all federal government health institutions in Nigeria including federal medical centres, specialists’ hospitals, orthopedic hospitals, psychiatric hospitals among others at various times had to shut down due to industrial action while the president visited United Kingdom for his health care.

On the website of the Federal Ministry of Health, there is a list of 44 tertiary health facilities comprising 20 teaching hospitals and 24 federal medical centres, a number of which should have been able to handle the President’s condition but these medical establishments have remained in critical states of despair.

It was even widely reported that budgetary allocations to all these facilities were dwarfed by the provisions made for the Aso Rock Clinic (State House clinic).

In October 2017, the president’s wife, Mrs. Aisha Buhari caused a stir when she said the Aso Rock Clinic could not boast of a syringe despite huge allocations made to it. She related that when she was sick, she was advised to travel abroad because of the poor state of the clinic, adding that she had to go to a private hospital owned by foreigners when told that the x-ray machine in the State House Clinic was not functioning.

The question is, what has happened to the implementation of the National Health Bill, 2014 for example? How much has been achieved with the penetration of the National Health Insurance Scheme and the expansion of the programme to include ordinary Nigerians? What are the plans of this government to improve Nigerians’ access to health information as an important ingredient for preventive care?

Another nagging issue is the welfare and conditions of service for medical personnel in the country.

It was wildly reported that last month, hundreds of Nigerian doctors gathered at a hotel in Abuja, and Lagos, for an exam conducted by the Saudi Arabian health ministry.

Reports also disclosed that weeks before the attempt by Saudi Arabia to entice Nigeria’s medical best, dozens had sat for the regular Professional Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) exams at the British Council. Scaling through this test will enable them to work in the UK.

Over the last few years, about 2,000 doctors have left Nigeria blaming the mass exodus on poor working conditions.  While the annual healthcare provision for an individual in the US is $10,000, in Nigeria it is a paltry $6. Merely four percent of Nigeria’s budget is designated for health.

Sadly, four years into the Buhari administration, poor primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services/facilities have bedeviled the country.

These challenges were meant to have been effectually tackled if the government had delivered on its promise to bring healthcare delivery closer to the people. This was meant to be achieved with the rejuvenation of 10,000 primary health care centres across the country. The minister of health, a professor of medicine, had emphasised that resuscitating primary healthcare was one of the top priorities of the government. This is still being awaited.

In 2017 while inaugurating the Model Primary Health Care Centre for Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria at Kuchigoro Primary Health Centre, Abuja the president assured that Federal Government will continue to ensure more Nigerians have access to quality basic health care services. He expressed hope that the provision of quality health care service would reverse the poor health indices in the country, noting that his administration would fulfill all its promises made to the people.

Yet, many primary healthcare centres across the country are still dire straits. Today, a state of public health concern has been declared as nearly 2,300 children under five die daily and about 145 women also die daily in Nigeria from pregnancy and childbirth related matters. Most pregnant women still use the services of traditional birth attendants for delivery.

Strangely, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udoma said President Buhari’s administration places very high value on improving health care delivery and social welfare of Nigerians. Speaking at the opening of the ‘Value for Money in Health Sector Workshop’, Udoma said Buhari’s administration was prioritising health related expenditures in all the national budgets.

“As we are able to demonstrate and show improved healthcare outcomes for the money we are currently spending, government at all levels will be encouraged to further increase funding to the health sector,” the minister said.