With total expenditure on health
averaging a mere 0.6% of GDP in 2018,
a marked drop from an average of about
3.5% in the 3 years preceding 2016,
Nigeria’s health sector remains sorely
underdeveloped as a result of poor
funding. In the face of inadequate public
health infrastructure, ineffective health
insurance and rising cost of medical care
from private hospitals, individuals and
households are increasingly required to
pay for medical expenses out of their
pocket, limiting their discretionary income
The Shrinking Nigerian Middle Class
and imposing significant strain on the
health care provision for the populace.
Consequently, while global life expectancy
is improving to over 70 years, life
expectancy in Nigeria stands at 55 years.
In addition to the relatively low life
expectancy, the growing insecurity,
economic hardship and leadership
challenges in the country has prompted
an increase in the number of both highly
skilled middle-class Nigerians and asylum
seekers migrating to developed countries
in search of better lives. Data from the
Canadian government revealed that the
number of Nigerians admitted into Canada
through the Express Entry programme
increased by 1057% from 98 in 2015
to 1036 in 2016.By 2017, Nigerians
were now the most successful citizens in
Canadian immigration programme behind
India and China. Similarly, data from the
U.S Homeland Security showed that over
29,000 Nigerian immigrants living in the
US overstayed their U.S non-immigration
B1/B2 visas between Oct. 2017 and Sept.
2018.
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