HEALTH CARE IS THE NEXT OIL

Nigeria’s public spending on health care amounts to just 3.75% of its $495 billion GDP, according to the latest available figures from the World Bank.

A recent report from real estate consultancy Knight Frank said Nigeria would require 386,000 additional beds and $82 billion of investment in health-care real estate assets to reach the global average.

A report published Monday by New Markets Media & Intelligence highlighted a number of overseas companies and investment vehicles that have begun to invest in health-care infrastructure in Nigeria. Despite all of these opportunities the sad part is that the government has not been able to harness all the opportunities. Health care is big deal. In America the health care sector is a $3.5trillion industry for a GDP of $19 trillion. By interrogating the numbers if Nigeria needs $82 billion of investment it shows that over the next 10 years health care if properly harnessed can be a $500 billion sector in Nigeria. Every time the great potential of the health care excites me but we have a bunch of leaders that don’t think. It is time to liberalize the health care sector and bolster it with credit. I also believe government hospitals should be run on a public-private partnership model with government and stakeholders regulating for efficiency while government should set up health insurance credit for the poor. When properly harnessed Nigeria can be the health tourism Mecca of Africa. Currently Nigerians spend over $1billion seeking health care abroad. If the money is ploughed back into our country then it would help greatly with our forex problems. The problem with Nigeria is that our leaders don’t think. Health care is another goldmine waiting to be tapped. I just hope they see these numbers. Nigeria is a blessed country with boundless opportunities. Health care is the next oil.

Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail.com