Nigeria (Commonwealth Union)_ Nowadays, it is becoming common among Nigerians to frequently travel overseas for medical treatment. Particularly, public officials who can afford it often seek medical treatment overseas even for problems that may be treated at home. Reportedly, Nigerians spend nearly $500 million (N78 billion) a year on medical care overseas. Their most popular choices of countries are India, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This happens despite the fact that Nigeria has a large number of skilled physicians and extensive medical facilities.
According to the proverb, health is wealth, people take tremendous efforts to assure good medical care for various conditions. However, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases such as cancer, renal failure, and cardiovascular disease has increased the demand for specialized and advanced medical treatment, which is scarce in Nigeria. Despite the fact that some of the tertiary institutions in the nation still have the necessary professionals and technology to handle chronic cases, many Nigerians prefer to travel overseas to receive treatment for both chronic and non-chronic conditions, thinking that the quality of care available in-house is inadequate.
The term medical tourism refers to the movement of patients from one country to another and traveling across international borders to seek quality healthcare services, often at a lesser cost. In the first eight months of the fiscal year that concluded in August (8M 2022), and in addition to the expense of President Muhammadu Buhari’s personal medical trips to the United Kingdom, the treasury paid out $6.23 million for international healthcare services for Nigerians.
A report released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) details the monthly expenditures on overseas health-related services. As per the report, January recorded $0.170,000; February – $0.140,000; March – $0.43 million; April – $3.02 million; May – $0.79 million; June – $0.42 million; $0.46 million was recorded during the month of July; and August – $0.80 million. According to reports, the overall cost of international medical care increased from $1.47 million in 8M 2021 to $6.23 million in 8M 2022. The lack of foreign currency is also attributed to substandard health care services in the country. According to reports, stakeholders complain of inadequate access to foreign money (forex) for the importation and production of key pharmaceuticals to improve healthcare services in the nation.
The Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (AIPN) released a statement last September detailing the challenges encountered by pharmaceutical businesses. The challenges included infrastructure, inconsistent and mishandled government policies, supply chain difficulties, poor industrial links, a weak technological and technical foundation, low access to foreign exchange, a lack of petrochemical industries to facilitate the manufacturing of active medicinal components, ingredient production, and poor incentives. The statement added, “NAIP, therefore, calls on the Nigerian government to resolve the lingering crisis in securing forex for the importation and manufacturing of essential medicines as this is becoming one of the greatest threats to the growth of the pharma industry in Nigeria”.
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has admitted the country’s scarcity of foreign currency to satisfy import requirements and has asked financial institutions to help find a solution for this challenge. He made the request during the 2022 Bankers’ Committee retreat in Lagos, where he acknowledged that the committee’s joint programs and efforts had brought real benefits to the economy. Emefiele stated, “Recognising the hindrances of high inflation and foreign exchange shortages on the achievement of our national development goals, the 2022 retreat is convened to focus on the development of the local manufacturing industry and non-oil sectors, more broadly, and particularly to enhance the sector’s capacity to generate foreign exchange inflows”. He added, “The focus is even more germane considering the enormity of the global economic turbulence, as wave after wave of negative shocks continue to ravage many countries.”
In Nigeria, India has risen to prominence as the best destination for medical tourism. India, Thailand, and Singapore get the most medical tourists because of the inexpensive cost of treatment, superior healthcare infrastructure, and availability of highly-qualified specialists throughout Asia. Observers emphasize that Nigeria is endowed with a large number of skilled, seasoned, and competent medical professionals and physicians who can treat any medical problem or sickness. However, medical tourism may be significantly reduced, if considerable advancements are made in the equipment and finances of Nigerian hospitals.
