I am writing from Nigeria with tears flooding my eyes because of the conditions of the health system in my country. I am a victim of the deteriorating and dilapidating health industry. The health situation is nothing to write home about. Instead of the situation getting better it's becoming worse every day. This is due to the high level of corruption in the entire country mitigating against the growth and development of the sector. Our leaders cum politicians are bent on syphoning money for private use instead of developing the entire country which the health sector would also benefit from.
The health industry is facing lots of problems such that this write-up might not be able to address them the way they are. However, I will do my best. As a result of these challenges, the death toll in my country is high and alarming
The first major challenge is the issue of effective and efficient medical facilities. These facilities include the hospital building and the medical apparatus for effective medical service delivery. Most primary health centres have been abandoned as a result of poor maintenance culture hence putting pressure on the few working ones. This has made the work environment so uncomfortable and unconducive for health workers. Considering the population of my country, the few working health centres are not enough to cater to the needs of the people. It is high time that the government and other stakeholders put more effort into building more health services delivery centres across the country and also ensure that things are put in place for the maintenance 9f those facilities.
Another issue is the low incentives for health workers in the country. Talking about salaries, doctors, nurses and other health personnel are earning less than their counterparts in other countries. Health workers put their lives at risk hence, they are supposed to be taken care of but the reverse is the case. As a result of this many of them have decided to leave the country to where they are earning a good amount of money. Beyond the salaries, other incentives like allowances are too poor for healthcare givers in my country. Worst of all, they're being owed salaries for months by the government and other private institutions. It is high time the government reviewed the salaries and allowances of health workers to avoid the issue of brain drain in the country.
Inadequate health workers is one of the major issues we're facing here. So many of our doctors and nurses have left the country, leaving the few ones in the hands of so many patients. Most left health workers in the country are just school leavers who are not so well experienced in the profession there making the issue more complicated. According to statistics, about 5000 to 6000 health workers have left the country for Europe. The consequence is too devastating and the government needs to check the reason for this and cover every loophole that might give rise to this. Issues like working conditions and salaries are reasons for this. Also, more health workers should be recruited to fill some vacant positions in the hospitals.
A high level of corruption in the health sector is nothing to write home about. Especially in public or government-owned hospitals. We see health workers diverting government facilities and equipment to their private hospitals hence they will refer patients to their private clinics to make more money. This is the height of it all. Government hospitals most of the time are cost-effective compared to private ones, but in my country, some private hospitals are effective and efficient in service delivery because of some equipment diverted from government hospitals. This is just an aspect, another is that money budgeted for innovations of health facilities across the country is also diverted by private individuals. To deal with this issue, the government needs to be proactive in its fight against corruption and also ensure that anyone found guilty of these crimes is severely punished to serve as a deterrent to others.
The so many issues confronting the country's health sector are what I can't write down here so for now I believe if these issues are checked, other issues can be taken care of.
@sylvasticks and @mmenyene will find this interesting and share their thoughts on it.
