Jide Ojo Health is wealth, says a popular adage. There is hardly anyone alive who does not need medical attention during his or her life. Thanks to medical and health sciences, which have, through research and innovation, been able to make human beings live long in good health.
In Nigeria, health is on the concurrent legislative list, making it something that is the responsibility of the three tiers of government, namely the federal, the state and the local. To underscore the importance of health, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 3 is dedicated to good health and well-being.
It says, “Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being of all at all ages is essential to sustainable development.” Healthcare delivery is an area where public and private practices are allowed. There are hundreds of thousands of licensed private hospitals and clinics, just as there are thousands of primary health centres established and managed by local governments, hundreds of general hospitals being managed by state governments and several other federal medical centres and teaching hospitals established by the Federal Government.
Every state has a Ministry of Health, the same way there is a Federal Ministry of Health. Unfortunately, despite these numerous health centres, Nigerians are not enjoying good medical services. While the private operators charge cutthroat prices for their services, the public hospitals have turned to mere consulting clinics and are perennially goi.
