UNICEF rightly points out that although the rate of newborn deaths has improved, to 37 per 1000 births, this national average hides the differences between our 36 states and the slow progress in some of them.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has revealed that Nigeria loses about USD 1 billion every year as a result of medical tourism.
This is even as the Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) Mrs Toyin Saraki, disclosed that over 2,300 under-five children and 145 women of children bearing age die every day in Nigeria.
Ehanire’s revelation is coming at a time when President Muhammadu Buhari’s frequent medical trips abroad are causing discomfort among Nigerians, especially in the face of ongoing industrial action by the health workers.
“Nigeria loses up to USD 1 billion every year to medical tourism, as a result of the loss of faith in our medical system, at various levels. We must foster an enabling environment where knowledge reparation in health is promoted and Nigerian Health workers in the diaspora can return home,” says Ehanire.
Medical Tourism is where people who live in one country travel to another country to receive medical, dental and surgical care while at the same time receiving equal to or greater care than they would have in their own country, and are travelling for medical care because of affordability, better access.
In the same flow, the former Kwara State First Lady drew attention to the challenging condition of mother and infant health outcomes in Nigeria.
She stated: “Around 20,000 babies will be born in Nigeria today; each one of them a blessing. Today, however, we will also lose about 2,300 under-five-year-olds and 145 women of child-bearing age.”
UNICEF rightly points out that although the rate of newborn deaths has improved, to 37 per 1000 births, this national average hides the differences between our 36 states and the slow progress in some of them.
Source: devdiscourse.com
