Nigeria is a developing country that has a number of problems where health care is not the last one. Here is an agenda for enhancing public health care in Nigeria from the most important issues which should be considered immediately to the last important, but which should also be considered in the nearest time.
- HIV/AIDS. This is one of the main problems in Nigeria as the testing programs are not spread and many people even do not know that they have problems. Only 11.7 % of the population received the results of their tests. Sex education is not developed (20% of schools provide this information). The problem of condoms exists, 5.9 condoms per man per year was delivered to the country from 2001 up to 2005 (World population data sheet, 2009; HIV and AIDS in Nigeria, 2009).
- Immunization from measles, polio, diphtheria, or tetanus (at least). Only about 20% of children are vaccinated. The absence of appropriate vaccines and the staff for providing vaccinations is a problem (Paulson, 2001).
- Poor health care delivery (nefarious activities of quacks and fake drugs). About 20% of the drugs in Nigeria are adulterated. This leads to inappropriate health care delivery and the inability to provide necessary treatment. Moreover, “many health technicians, radiographers, nurses, laboratory scientists, and doctors are operating ‘hospitals’ where unwholesome healthcare are given to unsuspected patients” (Akinwumi, 2010, par. 6).
- Water supply. The inability to get water good for drinking creates additional waterborne diseases, like river blindness (onchocerciasis), snail fever (schistosomiasis), elephantiasis (lymphatic filariasis), etc. The absence of appropriate water supply systems makes people drink water from rivers. Problems connected with failure to follow hygiene norms also influence health (Paulson, 2001).
- Appropriate education. Absence of the obligatory education in Nigeria leads to human ignorance in many questions including health care. According to the Population Reference Bureau (2009), only 32% of youth are enrolled in secondary education.
- Maternal and child health. Bad services and health care connected with maternal and child health are supported by the fact that half of the Nigerian girls are married up to 15 and four of five are married up to 18. Ignorance and inability to deal with children because of young age make the problem urgent (HIV and AIDS in Nigeria, 2009; World population data sheet, 2009).
- Statistics and surveillance system. Many problems are invisible as the country does not have a surveillance system that may record the problems, the number of people involved, and the actions which have been provided to conquer those problems (Paulson, 2001).
- Funding and financing. Being a developing country, Nigeria’s government cannot finance health care appropriately. Present international funding and financial support from charity organizations are not enough (Akinwumi, 2010).
- Non-government organizations. Some non-government organizations try to deal with some problems, but the number of those organizations and the number of health problems is incommensurable. Lack of governmental support and assistance increases the time for problem-solving (Paulson, 2001).
- The attraction of doctors and building health care departments. Lack of doctors and buildings for delivering health care is the problem that also needs solving. For example, there are only nine resident neurosurgeons in the country, while in GB this number never reduces up to 20. The lack of simple therapists is also a problem for the country (Akinwumi, 2010).
Reference List
Akinwumi, F. (2010). Nigeria: Challenges facing Nigerian health system.All Africa. Web.
HIV and AIDS in Nigeria. (2009). Avert. Web.
Paulson, T. (2001). A breakdown of our primary health care system. Dispensing Hope. Web.
World population data sheet. (2009). Population Reference Bureau. Web.