Nigeria: How COVID-19 Lockdowns Affect Healthcare of Non-COVID Cases

14 April 2020
analysis

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on all facets of life cannot be over emphasized. The new virus has infected almost 2 million and killed 119,815 worldwide. The pandemic has also taken a toll on economies in most parts of the world, causing businesses to stagnate or fold up and leading to enormous job losses. The healthcare industry which is the forefront of the war against covid-19 fights different battles on several fronts on a daily basis; testing challenges, inadequate PPEs and ongoing need for human resources, drugs, beds, ventilators and many other items required by hospitals.

Many have expressed fears on the ability of Nigeria's healthcare system to handle the spread of covid-19 in the nation. The reason is simple; Nigeria's health sector has been one of the weakest in the world. The country, despite being Africa's largest economy, was, in 2017, rated 187 out of 190 countries in World Health Systems, only ahead of Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Myanmar. Even though some aspects of healthcare delivery have improved since then, it is still not prepared to handle an epidemic in the proportions seen in the U.S. and across Europe.

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