Just when health officials and Nigerians were
about to forget the heat that the Ebola Virus Disease generated while it
lasted, a suspected case of ethanol poisoning reared its ugly head in
Ode-Irele, a small community in Ondo State.
Unlike when most Nigerians knew how the victims
got infected with EVD, its signs and symptoms, the only tangible information
from health officials in Ondo State is that prior to their deaths, the 18
victims complained of headache and later lost their sight.
Five other persons who are still alive have had
to be transferred from the General Hospital, Ode-Irele, to the University
College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, for proper evaluation and management.
More
interesting is the fact that scientists with the World Health Organisation and
the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, toiling day and night in the
laboratory have yet to get a definite diagnosis. More unfortunate is the fact
that 12 people had died in the affected community before the information became
public knowledge.
It is not only in Ondo State that late detection
of a condition has led to loss of lives. At least 20 persons died from a
cholera outbreak that affected 10 communities in Andoni Local Government Area
of Rivers State earlier in the year.
Many of the victims had been vomiting and
stooling for at least one week before they were rushed to the nearest clinics.
The Rivers State government also had to enlist
the WHO and the Federal Ministry of Health for help to stop the needless deaths
in the affected communities.
Just last week, about 21 persons were confirmed
to have died of another cholera outbreak in seven local government areas in
Ebonyi State. The current outbreak has spiked the call for a total
restructuring of the health care system, such that diseases can be detected
early and managed properly in health facilities across the country.
Players in the industry have said that there is a
need for government at all levels to go back to the Primary Health Care model
introduced by the late Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti in the 70s.
They opined that frequent scenarios where
essential personnel, such as doctors and nurses are lacking; while facilities
such as ambulances, and blood pressure monitors, water and thermometers are not
available in many primary health care facilities across the country would make
it difficult for Nigeria to handle epidemics without recording needless deaths.
Consultant Family Health Physician, Dr. Femi
Omolola, particularly decried the state of facilities in the primary health
centres in Northern and South Western parts of the country.
Omolola said in future, government must place
emphasis on PHCs because these facilities are closer to the communities and are
usually the first place of call for patients when there is an outbreak of a
disease.
He said, “The state of facilities in some PHCs in
the North and South West is appalling. They don’t have generators. They lack
basic equipment like thermometers to check temperature, blood monitors and
weighing scale.
“We must go back to the Olikoye Ransome-Kuti model
where PHCs had doctors and nurses who were not just waiting for patients to
come, but were also going to the community to treat patients, do research and
also educate residents on what to do for better health.”
Apart from equipping PHCs with diagnostic
equipment, stakeholders say there are enormous challenges that the
President-elect, Gen. Muhammad Buhari (retd), must tackle in order to have a
turnaround in the health sector
Operators in the health sector want the All
Progressives Congress and its leaders to map out a comprehensive plan on how to
check medical tourism, the influx of fake drugs, and, above all, to ensure that
the majority of Nigerians enrol on the National Health Insurance Scheme.
The Vice-President, West-African Region, Commonwealth
Medical Association, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, while asking the incoming
administration not to fund foreign medical trips, noted that the country loses
N78bn ($500m) annually to such excursions.
Enabulele said, “Based on the president-elect’s
antecedents in the quest to eradicate corruption and institute discipline and
integrity in governance, we expect that he, alongside his team, would ensure
strict adherence to the rule of law by restricting government’s funding for
foreign medical treatment by political and public office holders.”
“We lose at least $500m every year to patients
travelling abroad for treatment. India makes $260m from Nigerian patients
annually. This year alone, India will likely get between $1bn and $2bn from
Nigerians seeking medical attention.
“Our patients are part of the people that make
that sector boom. Something must be done; this figure should provoke some
actions from our government.”
For the President, Pharmaceutical Society of
Nigeria, Mr. Olumide Akintayo, the challenge before Buhari should not be
limited to stopping foreign medical voyages. The incoming administration,
Akintayo said, should also focus on funding the National Health Insurance
Scheme.
According to him, the earlier more Nigerians
enrol on the NHIS, the better for the country.
Lamenting that the NHIS has not received enough
publicity eight years after its inauguration, Akintayo noted that only six
million out of 160 million Nigerians have enrolled on the scheme.
He added, “The APC administration must canvass a
consolidated health care funding which requires first line deduction of at
least five per cent for health care delivery. This will help in funding the
subsidy gap for health insurance.
“It must promote the culture of corporate social
responsibility by enlisting support of the banking, oil and gas and telecoms
sectors, which are the front liners in the Nigerian economy.”
Akintayo, who also urged the president-elect to
deal with the fake drug syndrome, advised him to encourage local manufacturing
of drugs.
He stated, “For the pharmaceutical sub-sector,
the government must come up with reforms that will usher in a petrochemical
industry, which is the precursor for genuine industrial revolution across
board.
“The moment Nigeria comes up with benzene plants,
then, the inertia for primary manufacturing will be tackled, in contrast to the
stuttering fortunes which we have continually witnessed in our country.”
On research and development, the PSN helmsman
called for substantial support for the National Institute for Pharmaceutical
Research and Development.
Akintayo said, “It is a shame that at a time of
national health emergencies, we depend entirely on other nations to provide
vaccines and medicines for clinical diseases that are exclusive to the tropics.
This must change in the new dispensation.”
Recognising that the outgoing administration
faced numerous cases of industrial actions, the Nigeria Society of
Physiotherapy has asked the president-elect to look into the factors that
provoked the crises.
The society noted, “It is our hope that there
will be equity in the Buhari-led administration in appointment of those who
will drive the sector for the next four years. Let the administration ensure
equity by appointing competent and qualified individuals to oversee the health
ministry. This will help put an end to the frequent disharmony in the sector.”
Source:Punch
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