The dire need of functional health care systems in Nigeria amid Covid -19
It’s 9:00am, I am sitting on the sofa, laptop in hand, phone at my side and my 4 year old is strutting to and fro the length of the living room on his scooter making so much noise and I can’t yell because this mama is tired! It’s exactly one week since his school closed up and at this point I have little to no strength left in me.
If you are part of God’s green earth or the human race then you should know by now the pandemic that has forced the world to stand still. I mean who would have thought that there will ever be a time where laying down in front of the TV and doing nothing would save the world?!
Hmm the fear of coronavirus is …….. (You complete it )
As I write this, the statistics for Nigeria according to Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) records a total of 42 cases with 2 recoveries and 1 death. In the midst of all the hysteria, panic buying and fear, I’m sitting here quietly and all I can think about is our healthcare system in Nigeria.
Can the health care system in Nigeria cope with mass cases?
What are our chances of survival if this pandemic goes out of hand?
Can the government cushion the effect of mass cases?
How about financially? Do we have enough funds to cater to emergencies such as this? (How many days did it take China to build their hospital again? hehehe)
My brain is tired from thinking at this point.
Two days ago I noticed a change in my phone, the top left hand that usually carries the network bars was replaced with “Be safe” and in that instant, I started to wonder if there has been enough communication, awareness and education about this virus. I mean the average Nigerian that lives in the rural areas have cell phones, they may not be able to use the internet but they sure can receive text messages. As at this minute, I am yet to get any alert from my network provider advising on this issue. (Little wonder people are busy overdosing on Chloroquine)
My Organisation (I say it like I own the place right? Lol) Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC )has a mandate to ensure Citizens participation in governance and one of the ways we do this is by monitoring and reporting public procurements to ensure accountability and transparency.
Our primary focus is on health and education and with data from our open contracting platform Budeshi, we embarked on a community town hall meeting themed Budeshi Waka in 2017.
We visited 6 states and amongst them was Benue state. I was particularly interested in this one because I am tiv and proud :) . The findings from our monitoring exercise was disheartening to say the least.
In 2014 the National Primary HealthCare Development Agency (NPHCDA) awarded contracts for Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) to be built in Yandev ,Gboko. The contract which was awarded for the sum of ₦21,986,893 by Sataab Inv. Nig Ltd was yet to be completed.
Out of the 5 communities visited none had a functional PHC to cater for the health needs of the people. More alarming was the fact that pregnant women were left to be attended to by unprofessional traditional birth attendants whose experience sometimes leads to death of mother and child during child bearing.
The health care situation hasn’t changed, we still get such reports from our community based monitors. We still record communities with very large populations without access to proper health care. An interesting observation during this tour was that these people didn’t even know they were entitled to these services, most of them reported that when the contractors come to build and they try to ask them any questions they get responses like “ We are doing you all a favor so don’t ask us anything”. There is also the part where community members are completely clueless about how much the PHCs were contracted for. Imagine the shock on their faces when we give them the details of monies running into millions.
The result of this is haphazard buildings constructed, Uncompleted buildings under lock and key leaving communants to cater for themselves by either trekking hundreds of kilometers to access care in nearby villages or resorting to self medication. Oh did I mention a school we monitored where a building collapsed on students learning because of the use of substandard materials? Let’s not even go there because you will be reading till tomorrow if I continue.
So I ask again CAN OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM CATER FOR MASS COVID 19 CASES?
Perhaps if we had known that a pandemic such as this who is no respecter of persons (poor or rich) would come and humble every one of us maybe! Just maybe! We would have insisted on a functional health care system. Notice how I used “we” above? Yes! I mean We, Nigerians, Citizens, Masses and the government. We all have a part to play. As it stands we have to make do with what we have while ensuring that we adhere to directions from health experts and the government.
I hope that when this is all over, we will understand the adverse consequences of years of neglect of our healthcare system. I hope that we are more considerate, empathetic and willing to work together to push our country from where it is to where it should be.
God bless us all.
