Growing Outrage Over medical tourism… What Experts Revealed Is Alarming

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Nigerians tackle govt over huge financial loss to medical tourism

For several years, Nigerians have continued to express concern over the tendency of public officials to seek medical treatment abroad for ailments considered minor, rather than investing in and utilizing the country’s healthcare facilities.

This pattern is particularly evident among politicians, senior government officials, and some affluent private individuals.

In many cases, these trips are reportedly funded with public resources, placing a burden on citizens whose funds are being used, despite their need for accessible and efficient healthcare services within the country.

Many Nigerians have voiced dissatisfaction with the situation. Their frustration is rooted in the belief that these public officials have failed to prioritize improvements in the nation’s healthcare sector.

Those who share this view argue that these officials occupy positions of authority across different levels of government, giving them the capacity to improve the healthcare system for the benefit of all citizens. Another concern raised is that many of the foreign hospitals frequently patronized by Nigerian officials are staffed by Nigerian medical professionals who left the country in search of better opportunities.

Last year, Nigeria’s former president, Muhammadu Buhari, who was on a medical trip to London, passed away. The Federal Government reportedly covered all associated expenses, including hospital bills and transportation costs.

Some Nigerians believe such expenses could have been avoided if adequate attention had been given to strengthening the country’s healthcare system during his administration.

Beyond public opinion, healthcare professionals have also raised concerns about the financial losses linked to medical tourism.

Experts have indicated that Nigeria loses an estimated $1.3 billion annually to medical tourism.

This disclosure was made during a recent gathering of stakeholders in the health sector at the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo, during the institution’s fourth annual Public Health Grand Round organised by its Faculty of Public Health.

The institution’s Public Relations Officer, Isaac Oluyi, who delivered the keynote address, themed, ‘Health Systems Strengthening: Building Resilience for the Future,’ referenced a submission by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Coordinator in Ondo State, Habibu Yahaya, noting that weaknesses in the health system contribute to an estimated annual loss of about $1.2 billion to medical tourism.

According to him, “This is not unconnected with the shocks often experienced by the country’s health system. Nigerian health systems face acute shocks including epidemics, pandemics and chronic stressors like poor funding and persistent strikes.”

Earlier, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the university, Adolphus Loto, emphasised the need for resilience in public health systems, stating, “A system has both input and output. Resilience is the ability of the system to withstand pressure without breaking.

“Building our health system to resist shocks, while continuing to deliver essential services, is non-negotiable.”

Medical experts at the event identified the shortage of skilled personnel as a major factor contributing to weaknesses in the healthcare system.

Panelists drawn from academia, government, and the health sector highlighted the need for task shifting, improved remuneration, sustainable financing, emergency preparedness, health security, community engagement, equity, innovation, research, efficient referral systems, and accurate workforce data to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system.

The Acting Dean of Public Health, Ofonime Johnson, described the grand round as an annual scientific forum aimed at addressing emerging public health challenges.

Meanwhile, reacting to the revelation that Nigeria spends over $1.3 billion annually on medical tourism, a public affairs analyst, James Osewele, criticised the development, describing it as unfortunate.

He suggested that public officials, including the president, vice president, governors, their deputies, and lawmakers at both state and federal levels, should be restricted from seeking medical care abroad. He argued that such a policy could serve as a practical step toward improving the nation’s healthcare system for all citizens, regardless of status.

He said: “The figure, as far as I am concerned, is a modest estimation. I am sure that when proper statistics are taken, it could even double that amount.

“But, it is very shameful that a country as big as Nigeria cannot fix its own health sector, such that its presidents see foreign medical trips as part of governance.

“Look at what happened to former President Umar Musa Yar’Adua; he died in a London hospital. Thereafter, he was brought back to Nigeria in a body bag and buried.

“A similar thing repeated itself last year with the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari in the same London hospital. He was also brought back in a body bag and buried.

“Our current President Bola Tinubu has made foreign medical trips a routine since he assumed office as president. The same applies to so many other politicians in Nigeria.

“I strongly believe that unless there is a law in place to stop them from such foreign medical trips, our health sector can never work. But, if they are prevented from accessing foreign medical assistance, they would fix the health sector because they know they will equally use it.

“It is just like the argument that public officials should stop sending their children abroad for education. It is also believed that when such a thing happens, the issue of the incessant Academic Staff Union of University, ASUU strikes and other teething problems in the education sector would be a thing of the past.

“Public officials in Nigeria should be banned from going abroad for medical care. After all, most of the medical personnel, ranging from doctors to nurses, pharmacists and lab scientists, who attend to them over there are Nigerians.

“So, why won’t they build and equip hospitals with state-of-the-art modern medical equipment so that these medical professionals will stop migrating and stay back home to offer their services to their fatherland?

“When they do that, they would have killed even more than two birds with one stone. First, it will create jobs for the country’s medical personnel who are moving in droves to foreign lands in search of greener pastures.

“Secondly, it would reduce unnecessary wastage for the country as they would no longer be spending foreign currency to get medical help but Nigeria’s local currency, the Naira. Thirdly, it will also attract outsiders, who would also come to Nigeria for medical services. In fact, the benefits are many.”

Also commenting, a medical practitioner based in Lagos, Davies Olanrewaju, agreed that the figures presented by experts may even be conservative.

He stated that the actual financial loss could be significantly higher.

He also expressed concern over the treatment of medical professionals in Nigeria, particularly doctors, citing inadequate incentives and unfavorable working conditions as key issues.

“So, when one has an opportunity to go out of the country, he or she doesn’t think twice. This is because apart from the passion to save lives, doctors also want to make money and be able to solve family and other personal financial problems.

“And with what they are paid in Nigeria, no doctor will think twice when the opportunity to travel overseas to practice beckons,” he.

Additionally, a nurse, Mrs Omoruyi Victoria, criticised the condition of healthcare facilities in Nigeria, noting that she feels a sense of nostalgia whenever she recalls a time when foreigners travelled to Nigeria to seek medical treatment.

“Each time I remember what we were told about the royal family of the Saudi Arabian king coming to Nigeria for medical care sometimes in the past, I shudder.

“The question is: what went wrong? I think our leaders just stopped financing the health sector.

“Nigeria’s annual health budget is far below the United Nations’ minimum standard. It is a shame.

“If we expect our health care system to be like what obtains in developed economies, then our government must be serious with the health sector financing,” she stressed.

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