The Chairman of the Lagos Medical Guild, Dr Babajide Saheed, on Tuesday, October 1, urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency toward revitalising the health sector.
The Medical Guild Chairman made the call during a media briefing in Lagos.
He said that 59 years after Nigeria’s independence, its health sector had deteriorated. Specifically, he cited a decline in healthcare delivery, resulting in medical tourism.
“In the past, people came from overseas to get medical treatment at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. But now the reverse is the case.
“Government is not pumping money into the health sector.
“The Abuja Declaration on 15 per cent funding for the health sector is yet to be fulfilled.
“Quality health service delivery, not corruption, should be the focus of government. This is because once a country does not get it right with its health and education systems, it has failed.
“The way emergency was declared in the security situation of the country. The same should be done for the health sector so that we can chart a way forward,” he said.
Saheed declared that having a functional Primary Healthcare (PHC) system in the country was paramount. Further, he described it as an effective way of addressing the nation’s health sector challenges.
“We should follow it up with an effective secondary and tertiary care. The tertiary care will take care of medical tourism.
“Each region in the country should have hospitals for specialisation – like pediatric, cardiology. Subsequently, we will not need to move out of the country,” he said.
