Nigeria: Cost Analysis of Seeking Healthcare Abroad

opinion

Abuja — The Guardian newspaper editorial of Friday, May 11th, 2007 titled "The alternative of seeking treatment abroad" reported the outgoing Minister of Health, Professor Eyitayo Lambo, as saying that "the alternative of seeking medical treatment abroad is the right of every Nigerian provided he/she can afford the cost." He further stressed that it does not necessarily mean that the treatment cannot be procured in Nigeria, implying that it may even be cheaper in Nigeria. This, he maintained, is part of the freedom of the individual, the inalienable right to choose.

Anybody following the debate about the health crises in Nigeria would know that the issue is never of "private individuals" seeking for health care abroad. It is the right of those who can afford it and no one has any problem with that. The minister had not only goofed, but it shows how insensitive our leaders can be to the plight of many Nigerians who cannot afford even basic healthcare locally. The debate is about the collapsed health sector in Nigeria vis-à-vis our leaders with the slightest physiological change in their body system leaving the shores of Nigeria to seek for healthcare abroad. That became apparent when within a short interval during the election period, two presidential candidates - VP Atiku Abubakar and Alhaji Umaru Yar'Adua - flew to London and Germany over alleged minor ailments of knee ligament tear and catarrh respectively.

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