The Cost Of Medical Tourism On Nigeria
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) disclosing that Nigerians spend approximately $1 billion annually on medical tourism is a clear nod to the poor state of the nation’s health sector. The NMA President, Prof. Innocent Ujah, the NMA President, raised the alarm at a recent lecture by the association, stating that the volume of money involved impacts the economy and the nation’s healthcare delivery system heavily. He identified brain drain as one of the factors worsening the depleted healthcare resources in developing countries like Nigeria and widening the gap in health inequalities worldwide. It is without a doubt that the increasing flood of Nigerian medical doctors and other health workers to Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom (UK), United States (US) and Canada in search of better work environment, safety and security affects the provision of healthcare in the country.
This hideous development has inexplicably forced the members of the political class as well as other privileged Nigerians to go on medical tourism in Europe and America, where medical services are adequate. Available statistics from NMA state that approximately 2000 doctors leave Nigeria on an annual basis. Disregarding the search for enhanced welfare and job security, the poor state of health facilities in the country and the utter neglect of the sector by the government seems to account for the emigration of health professionals to foreign countries as well as the thriving medical tourism by political office holders and other affluent Nigerians.
On the 2nd of August, 2021, the Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), went on an industrial action that lasted for 63 days and caused a disruption of medical services in public health facilities across the country along with deaths that were avoidable. The resident doctors had gone on strike to demand for the implementation of the memorandum of agreement that they reached with the Federal Government and to protest the alleged non-payment of salaries and allowances to some of their members, as well as the non-implementation of life insurance for those treating COVID-19 patients.
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In 2020, medical practitioners had gone on strike three times over their allowances for treating COVID-19 patients and an increment in basic salary. Health facilities were deserted and some Nigerians resorted to medical tourism during the strikes. Medical tourism is the process of travelling outside the country of residence for the purpose of receiving medical care. Nigeria has been losing billions of naira yearly due to medical tourism, mostly to India and Europe. This practice undermines and increases the loss of confidence of many Nigerians in the nation’s health system.
Despite the cost of medical tourism, as stated by the association, might be conservative, this is a wake-up call for the Nigerian authorities to fix the weakened health system. The crisis in the health sector can be traced to years of official neglect by the subsequent administrations. The situation in the sector is a reflection of the poor leadership culture in the country. The rise in the cost of medical tourism, especially by the political class, does not portray the country in good light. The practice affects productivity and depletes the country’s scarce foreign reserves.
Nigeria’s health sector cannot continue this way. Medical tourism should not be seen as an indication of status. An eye should be kept on public dignitaries travelling abroad for minimal health challenges that are better handled in the country. An example should be shown by the President and other senior officials of the government. The federal and state governments should increase the budgetary allocations to boost the health sector and minimise medical tourism. In the 2022 budget, only N724 billion (4.2 per cent) was allocated to the health sector for the purpose of healthcare.
In a country of over 200 million people, the allocation is insignificant. It also falls short of the agreement made in 2001 by the heads of state of the African Union in Abuja for each member state to commit 15 per cent of their annual budget to health. Medical tourism can be prevented when the government decides to provide world-class medical services in all its tertiary hospitals, the so-called centres of excellence, located in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country. The brain drain in the sector can also only be curbed when the government improves the welfare of Nigerian doctors and other health workers.
