Nigerian Surgeons Seek Increased Funding for Health Institutions

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

The Nigerian section of the International College of Surgeons (ICS) has urged the federal government to increase funding for healthcare across the board and fix dilapidated infrastructure in health institutions across the country. The group made the call at its 54th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference held in Jos.

The surgeons recommended that action be expedited on the completion and implementation of a surgical health plan for the country.

In a communiqué signed by the president and secretary of the college, Gen. Maurice Ezeoke and Professor Lucky Onotai, respectively, the surgeons commended the efforts of the current and past governments of Nigeria to provide healthcare for the citizenry. But they observed that the efforts were not far-reaching enough to deliver optimal healthcare in the country.

Although the college acknowledged the drop in the revenue generating capacity of the country, it believed that Nigeria had the capacity to do more for the health of its citizens.

The immediate past president of the college, Professor Yawale Iliyasu, who gave account of his stewardship in the past two years during the conference, lamented the devastating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health sector. Iliyasu said the pandemic claimed the lives of some members of the college.

Iliyasu stated, “The COVID-19 pandemic did not only truncate the 2020 meeting, it also stalled the work of the building committee. Now that the world has come to terms with the coronavirus and learnt to live with it, the committee has been reinvigorated and mandated to start work immediately.”

In a keynote address titled, “Surgery and Global Health,” Professor Ndu Eke identified insecurity as one of the leading causes of global ill health. Eke said there were different causes of insecurity, namely, natural causes, such as floods, fires, earthquakes, and volcanoes; and contrived causes, like wars, riots, genocide, and mass trauma from accidents, which he said were by far more disconnecting.

On solution to the problem of insecurity, which he said had taken a heavy toll on global health, Eke said, “Every political entity, whether as a community, a country, a nation, a region or a continent, should strive and be seen to strive to achieve the development goals regarding health.”

He advocated deliberate effort to maintain a high standard of training for doctors, especially surgeons, and equip hospitals, adding that COVID-19 exposed an embarrassing lack of basic necessities, such as oxygen, in hospitals at all levels.

Eke said, “Food sufficiency should be the cardinal objective of any governing entity. There is massive arable land, sufficient water from rains and rivers, and hardworking people. So, there should be no reason for food scarcity.”