Nigeria: Events That Shaped Nigeria’s Health Sector in 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic and the incessant strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) were the major events that made headlines for the health sector in 2021. The COVID-19, which remains a public health concern globally, brought an unprecedented disruption in healthcare services. This further exacerbated the already fragile health system in Nigeria, thereby worsening the country’s poor health indices.
Just as the country was beginning to breathe a sigh of relief from the pandemic, the emergence of the Delta variant brought another setback. While the country was still battling with the Delta variant, the news of the Omicron variant came and the variant was detected in the country on December 7th in three persons with recent travel history to South Africa.
Meanwhile, in the midst of this battle, resident doctors embarked on strike on August 2nd, 113days after it suspended its earlier 10-day old strike on April 10th.
The recurring strike was caused by what the doctors described as the government’s failure to maintain the agreements reached with them.
The strike, which lasted for 62 days, also paved the way for many doctors to seek greener pastures overseas as the sector was faced with mass exodus. However, experts in the sector have urged the government to prioritise the health sector. Former president of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Mike Ogirima, told me that the health sector needs more funding and the workforce needs motivation.
“There is a lot of brain drain from the health sector as the rate supersedes other sectors. Countries all over the world are looking for health workers because of the increasing demand for the workforce.
“And for those countries who are training their indigenes at a relatively cheaper rate, they find it very difficult to cope with the number of those trained leaving the system because of poor working environment.”
He therefore, urged the government to fund the sector, stressing the need for a better working environment, working tools and better motivation of the workforce to retain the ones that are already trained, adding that it will go a long way to get more workforce for the increasing population.
On tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, Ogirima urged the government to improve the surveillance system and educate the masses as they are doing presently, to go for immunisation.
Also, the managing director, Society for Family Health (SFH), Dr Omokhudu Idogho, urged the government on the need to purposefully move forward with the health reform agenda with a strategy to reduce the catastrophic cost of care at its heart.
“The Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) should be expanded and states should implement an integrated health system that fosters both public and private sector with the primary focus of the government, being better health outcome for citizens,” he urged.
By Leadership.
