The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria has stressed the need for private sector participation to develop the country’s health sector.
The HFN President, Dr Pamela Ajayi, at an event convened by the Federation in Lagos, said the private sector accounts for 70 per cent of the work been done in the country’s health sector.
She said, “The HFN has been able to provide a platform for the private sector to meet directly with the highest levels of government in terms of health and to directly present their issues. What is great is that we are getting resolutions, responses and it looks as if we are going to be able to resolve a number of issues from this meeting.
“The private sector accounts for 70 per cent of the work that is done in the health sector. I think the key thing now is recognition. People don’t realise how much the private sector is doing and how much more we can do and that is why as an organisation we advocate private sector involvement and understanding of how the private sector can take us to next level.”
The Chairman, Board of Trustees, HFN, Mr. Asue Ighodalo, said the current regulatory framework for health care in Nigeria was such that anyone with a medical degree could open a hospital and provide services.
According to Ighodalo, the way the law currently stands, unless such act is reported tothe Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, such person can continue to operate.
“In fact when the case is reported, it may take three to four years before it is prosecuted and while this is going on such facility can continue to practice. All these kinds of situations contribute to a lack of trust in the health care sector.
Ighodalo, who was represented by Dr. Richard Ajayi, said, “We cannot underestimate the importance of government policy in delivery of health care service in Nigeria, we know that a lot of our patients leave Nigeria every year and spend around a trillion-dollar abroad on medical tourism, the truth is that all these services they travel abroad we have people that are striving very hard to provide them here in Nigeria, but the issue is just that patients don’t trust the system as much as they should do.
“The question is how do we build trust in our healthcare industry and ensure that a lot of this money that travel abroad is retained in our system and also ensure a lot of our staff that leave Nigeria in search of greener pastures stay at home?”
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