Nigeria’s healthcare system ranks poorly on global indexes, with the Legatum Institute ranking it the 11th-worst healthcare system globally in 2023, and the Statista Research Department placing it 157th out of 191 countries for quality healthcare in 2023. Data published by Statista Research Department in June this year placed South Africa top with 63.8 points on countries with the highest healthcare index in Africa, followed by Kenya with 62 points, Tunisia with 57.4 points, Algeria with 54.5 points, and Nigeria with 49.1 points.
The scores for South Africa and Kenya are undeniably considered to be reasonably high and impressive. In assessing the healthcare index, certain factors such as the overall quality of the healthcare system, healthcare professionals, equipment, staff, doctors, and cost of healthcare services are taken into consideration
No doubt, these poor rankings are essentially due to critical shortages of medical professionals, inadequate infrastructure, weak health systems, low investment, and limited access to care, hindering progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Incidentally, Nigeria operates multi-layer or three-tier healthcare systems which include the primary healthcare that is community-based health centers; secondary healthcare of both state and general hospitals, and the tertiary healthcare, such as teaching hospitals and specialized centers.
But access to quality healthcare is uneven, with urban areas having better facilities than rural regions. Unfortunately, many Nigerians struggle to afford basic healthcare services, while others who have the financial resources travel abroad for medical treatments due to poor infrastructure and a lack of specialized professionals in the country.
In Delta State, the government has always given priority attention to issues relating to healthcare services by expanding the frontiers of access to medical services through its various healthcare delivery channels, such as the health centres in various communities, general hospitals, central hospitals, specialist hospitals, and tertiary or teaching hospitals.
All these, no doubt, underscored the state government’s commitment to effective, efficient, and accessible healthcare services. Only recently, the state government procured three Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines, one each in the three senatorial districts of the state, to boost the healthcare delivery in the state.
It is instructive to note that the MRI machines are crucial in healthcare delivery as they promote diagnostic accuracy, help in tracking disease progression and treatment effectiveness, and enable healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat a wide range of conditions effectively. To us, the purchase of the MRI machines is, indeed, a laudable gesture as it will significantly enhance access to advanced diagnostic services in the healthcare delivery of the state. No doubt, the procurement will obviously promote medical tourism in the state.
While we welcome the gesture, it is necessary to advocate that for effective application of the machine, professionals must be adequately trained to ensure the longevity of the equipment. In addition, the state government should also provide medical consumables that would enable healthcare professionals to discharge their duties optimally.
More importantly, we advocate that maintenance culture should not be compromised if the durability of the machines must be guaranteed. In a nutshell, we are of the view that maintenance culture should be firmly embedded in our governance structure so that Deltans, especially those in need of the facility, will continue to get value for the money spent by the state government in procuring the medical equipment.
Again, we hold the view that deliberate policy should be institutionalised by the state government to ensure that corruption is kept at bay in state-owned hospitals to enable citizens and residents of the state to maximally enjoy the well-intentioned health care policies and programmes of the present administration in the state.
As we commend Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for the giant strides in the health sector of the state, we urge other subnational governments in the country to emulate the Delta example by investing in their respective healthcare infrastructure with a view to expanding access to quality healthcare services to their citizens. Any serious government must give priority attention to the well-being of its citizens because a healthy populace, unarguably, translates to a healthy state in terms of productivity index.
