Covid 19 in Nigeria has done a lot of harm to mankind.
This is the latest data report of Covid 19 in Nigeria
The health care system in Nigeria has been affected badly because of covid 19. People have lost their lives, their loved ones, their normal life routine, their jobs, and much more. But there’s only one thing which this virus has done right. It has revealed the reality of healthcare organizations in Nigeria. How prepared our government is for an unknown disaster.
The impact of covid 19 in Nigeria has also changed the point of view of the rich, poor, and the government of Nigeria about the importance of health care. People have realized how badly we need to fix our healthcare system and some of the private sectors are already working on it. But in order to understand how much health care has improved, we need to find out the condition of Nigeria’s health care before covid-19.
Poor health care system in Nigeria
The health care system does not only provide timely medicare but also controls disease outbreaks. It is an important element in the development of a country. Investing in health care is always a great idea when it comes to the development of a country. So let us read about the health care system in Nigeria.
Nigerian health care system has faced many infectious disease outbreaks. It has a poorly developed medical system. The total expenditure on health care in Nigeria is 4.6% of its GDP while the federal government shares only 1.5% of it. Nigeria’s growth rate of per capita food production was 0.25% during 1970 – 1990. Malnutrition is seen as common in Nigeria.
According to a statistic about 20000 Nigerians travel to India for medical care every year. Nigeria has a number of under 5 child deaths. Nigeria accounts for 70% of death because of treatable diseases like malaria, HIV, pneumonia, etc. Last year 10% of the world’s newborn death has been recorded in Nigeria. About 80000 Nigerians die because of cancer every year.
The main reasons behind the inaccessibility of health care in Nigeria include poor hygiene, corruption, malnutrition, lack of safe drinking water, poor infrastructure, lack of medical drugs, and much more. And Covid19 in Nigeria just made it worse.
There is hardly a year passed in Nigeria without any medical strike. The reason behind the strike is the poor salary of doctors and health care workers. Half of the Nigerians can not afford private hospitals.
Major reasons behind low health status in Nigeria
1.The government has launched schemes like NHS but corruption has spoiled this opportunity. Lack of leadership is also a major reason for the unsuccess of the schemes.
2. In 1993 adulterated paracetamol syrup was found in Nigeria and caused the death of about 100 children. In 1996 about 11 children died due to a trial of a drug named trovafloxacin. In 2008-09, nearby 84 children died because of contaminated teething medication.
3. The migration of health care workers to other countries is also a major issue faced by Nigeria. The physician shortage is common in Nigeria due to brain drain. Many Nigerian doctors have emigrated to Europe.
4. Lack of government investment in healthcare is also a major issue faced by Nigeria. It has a negative impact on the health care system of Nigeria.
Impact of Covid 19 in Nigeria-
When WHO carried out a virtual press conference and confirmed that covid 19 is a deadly virus. It was declared a pandemic, with such a wide reach and explosive magnitude, the world braced itself for the impact.
The government of all the countries decided to impose Lockdown.
economy brought to a grinding halt and travel was shut down. All of a sudden we all were stuck in our houses. The fear of our life, jobs, education, and losing our loved ones was all over our minds. Within a few weeks, covid propagated like a chain. 96.2 million people were infected and 2.06 Million people died. And if we talk specifically about Nigeria 16.9Cr infected people were recorded.
Total Coronavirus Cases in Nigeria
Vaccination availability in Nigeria-
On 2nd March 2021 4 million dosages of the covid-19 vaccine were shipped in Nigeria. If we check the details the vaccine was shipped via the COVAX facility, it was basically a result of a partnership between CEPI, GAVI, UNICEF, and WHO.
We are really happy that people are understanding the importance of health and big organizations are coming forward to help all the countries. It was indeed a historic step taken by the big health organizations.
With the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) is trying to enable a commence to vaccination of Nigerians in priority groups, starting with frontline healthcare workers.
What was the major cause of death in Nigeria before covid?
- septicemia (6.0%)
- stroke (4.2%)
- liver diseases (4.1%)
- tuberculosis (3.7%)
- diabetes (3.6%)
- complications of HIV/AIDS (3.5%)
- ischaemic heart disease (3.4%)
Some ways to improve health care in Nigeria
- One of the best ways is to integrate adequate medical intelligence and surveillance systems. It can effectively monitor communicable diseases.
- Another practical way is to carry out health campaigns and awareness. A regular informed public can prevent it better.
- Informing people about NHIS can also be very useful.
- Government plays a huge role in the development of health care and medical facilities. The government should invest more in medical facilities and infrastructure.
Final words
Well, it’s not shocking as the health care system of Nigeria was always poor. But still, this coronavirus didn’t affect Nigeria compared to the destruction it created in other big countries. Nigeria has poor medical facilities but the government has been continuously working to develop medical facilities in the country. With better opportunities, Nigeria can have a well-developed infrastructure. So we have just finished reading the health care system in Nigeria.
Click here to check the regular recovery data covid 19 in Nigeria.
You can also read another blog about the Water Crisis in Nigeria.