In a bold move to address the massive outflow of funds to medical tourism, the Nigerian Government and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) have disclosed strategies aimed at reversing the staggering N3.2 trillion annual capital flight.
Annually, thousands of Nigerians travel abroad, primarily to countries like India, the UK, and the USA, in search of medical care. The financial toll of these trips has long been a concern for the stakeholders, contributing to the erosion of foreign reserves even as they highlighted the inadequacies within the domestic health sector.
The president, NMA, Prof. Bala Audu, at the NMA Healthcare & Medical Expo, yesterday, in Lagos, said, worldwide, the healthcare industry is worth over $12 trillion, expanding to $18 trillion by 2028, with Nigeria having a measly $6 billion of this share, adding that, ironically, the country is a leading exporter of health professionals globally.
In addition, the global market for medical tourism exceeds $100 billion and it is expected to reach $180 billion by 2030, with Nigeria contributing to this as an exporter of patients with an annual flight of capital of over $2 billion (equivalent to N3.2 trillion, using the dollar to naira rate of N1,600/$1) to medical tourism, Audu lamented, while affirming that, “This is predicted to get worse, unless we intervene as a nation.”
NMA president averred that the event, themed: “Enhancing sustainability and efficiency in Nigeria’s private health sector in the quest to reverse medical tourism”, was informed by the decision of NMA to take steps that will help the country to reverse medical tourism in this country, so that Nigerians will not have to travel out of this country in order to seek for health care.
Government should also think of reducing out-of-pocket medical expenses.”
The commissioner for health, Lagos State, Prof Akin Abayomi, said Lagos state has a total of 34,995 hospital beds in the private sector and 3,717 in the public sector; this amounts to a total of 38,712 hospital beds. “As such, the state has a hospital bed deficit of about 66,288 beds,” Abayomi stated.
To close this gap, the state will need at least 66 general hospitals, the commissioner said, adding that, “Given the fact that the government does not have the resources required to close this gap, the state will need to deploy innovative funding mechanisms that leverage the resources of the private sector. Our proposal is for the state to provide benchmark/model health facilities in terms of quality and standards and then stimulate the private sector to replicate the standards across the state with oversight from the Ministry of Health.”
