Late Prof Akunyili: Don Blames Government On Poor Health Institutions In Nigeria

                                   

odogwuemekaodogwu.com. reports that a lecturer at the Anambra State University, Igbariam campus, Dr Levi Chinaka Nwodu has warned against what he described as neglect of the health sector in Nigeria which he said has necessitated some Nigerians to be flown overseas for medical treatment when they are sick.

Reacting to the death of the former Minister for Information and Communication, Professor Dora Akunyili, Dr Nwodu who is of the Mass Communication department at the university wondered why Nigeria " as big and rich as it is still reflects what obtained in the 20th century in its health sector." He said that government should look inwards and do the necessary things to see that it measured up with the demands of the 21st century as regards bringing all the health institutions especially public health care delivery system to  modern standards.

" And my worry is that various government functionaries in this country have the opportunity to travel abroad and see how things work there. So, why can't we get it right here. Health care service should be one of the essential services government should not toil with. The health institutions should be well staffed, qualitatively equipped so that Nigerians should stop running abroad for medicare, and most often only to go there and die.

I can count a number of people flown overseas for medicare and they died there and were flown back home for burial. Nigeria is only enriching those countries they are flown to for treatment. And what about those Nigerians who cannot afford to travel abroad for treatment,"
the don queried.

He said that Nigeria has all it takes in human and material resources enough to stop "the big shots" who travel out for medical attention when they had a headache. He said that it was unfortunate that the late former Minister was said to have been diagnosed of cancer in Nigeria only to get a reverse result from an overseas country before she was flown to India where she died of the same cancer.

" Somebody was being diagnosed of cancer and the next thing we heard was that she had no cancer. This is a big question mark on the competence of those medical experts. I see it as toiling with somebody's life. That is not good, I'm sad. Those medical experts who told her she had no cancer showed incompetence since she eventually died of cancer and that is a big lesson to some of our big shots who rush overseas for treatment when they have little health challenges," Dr Nwodu noted.

He said the late Professor of Pharmacology gave her best in the service of her nation and wished that she had have lived longer.