[SPECIAL REPORT]
INVESTING
H E A L T
I
t has been estimated that about 30,000 Nigerians spend $1 billion annually
on medical tourism; 60 percent of this amount is spent in four major areas
of healthcare, namely cardiology, orthopedics, renal dialysis issues, and
cancer. Africa may be home to less than 15 percent of the world’s population
but it is the continent where up to 25 percent of the world’s diseases occur.
Nigeria, being the most populous nation in Africa, has a large number of
cases of widespread communicable diseases.
The three tiers of government run public health in Nigeria. The Federal
government is responsible for coordinating aff airs in Federal Medical Centers
and University Teaching Hospitals. The State government is responsible
for running general hospitals, while the local government is responsible for
dispensaries. In 2014, the Federal Government signed the National Health
Act and approved the establishment of state-supported health insurance
scheme, by the National Council on Health. This has granted the private
sector the opportunity to play a bigger role in the delivery and fi nancing of
health services across the country.
36 • India-Nigeria • 2018