Thread by @runciecwc

#COVID19 is here to teach us a lesson; I hope we learn. Nigeria’s healthcare is unhealthy.But instead of fixing it, our rulers have been busy flying up & down abroad.
If we survive COVID-19, we need a law to restrict all public officials from seeking medical care abroad.
#Thread

With #COVID19, reality is upon us. No more running overseas for medical vacation. Our rulers cannot travel to the United Kingdom, United States of America or India anymore for medical care. These countries are also hanging on their last breath, battling to survive the pandemic.

In 2017, President @MBuhari Buhari spent 103 days in London receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed illness, spending taxpayers’ money instead of investing in the country’s healthcare. Thousands of Nigerians died in the same period from different illnesses. #COVID19

More than 3,000 women died of breast cancer, more than 2,000 women died of cervical cancer and more than 1,500 men died of prostate cancer, according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures on annual cancer mortality.
#COVID19

I had hoped that on his return to Nigeria, President Buhari would declare a state of emergency in the country’s health sector. Painfully, nothing of such happened. Nigeria’s budget allocation to healthcare has remained less than 5% of the entire budget for the past five years.

Simply put, in 2020 the federal government budgeted N2,000 (£4.2) for each Nigerian with a total of N427.3 billion as budget allocation to the health sector while the United Kingdom budgeted £2,159.6 for each citizen with a total health budget of £143.4billion.
#COVID19

It is the same dismal story in the states across Nigeria. Healthcare is not a priority. In some states, a hospital is a 20mins boat ride and an hour-long car ride. Because many poor Nigerians do not own boats, a woman in labour could bleed to death before she reaches the hospital

On March 22, 2018, @BillGates , founder of @Microsoft & the @gatesfoundation criticized the Nigerian government’s poor funding of healthcare in the country. In his words, “One in three children is chronically malnourished.”
#COVID19

This tragedy has huge implications for the economy. According to the World Bank, addressing the stunting crisis in Nigeria would add almost $30 billion to Nigeria’s GDP. It is painful that despite Mr. Gates assertion, nothing has changed. #COVID19

Nigeria has remained one of the countries in the world with the worst healthcare system with over 60 deaths per 1000 live births.

Nigeria has one of the worst cancer survival rates in the world, with only 2 to 3 cancer radiotherapy machines working at any particular time and less than 70 oncologists for a population of over 200 million. #COVID19

COVID-19 is exposing the insensitivity of our leaders to things that matter most to us. That Nigerians are disobeying the government’s safety advice on COVID-19 is a clear reflection of citizens’ mistrust for their leaders.
#COVID19 #COVID19Nigeria

Many Nigerians trust their religious leaders more than they trust our political leaders. Successive governments have failed the country, and it doesn’t look like thing will change anytime soon.
#COVID19 #COVID19Nigeria

Nigeria is a country where our rulers make laws today & break the same laws tomorrow. .@NCDCgov followed @WHO guideline & encouraged all Nigerians coming from certain countries to self-isolate & monitor themselves, as a strategy to contain or to delay the spread of #COVID19

The @NGRPresident ’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, returned from Germany & instead of isolating himself, he was jumping from one state to another, attending meetings with different people, breaching the government’s own recommendation & placing the lives of other Nigerians at risk!

Now that #COVID19 is in Nigeria we need to face it with all that we have. But can we?
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) & @Chikwe_I @Fmohnigeria @DrEOEhanire are now the country’s only perceived hope.
#COVID19Nigeria

Many Nigerians have been calling @NCDCgov hot lines, criticizing #NCDC for not testing enough people.
But we should face the music and not the dancer.
NCDC is crippled and not well equipped to protect Nigerians from the disease.
#COVID19

Do you know that in 2016, @NCDCgov had N3.7m for her recurrent and N248m for capital allocations, that’s a total N252m.
Out of this, only N155m was released to the centre.
In the same year, 1,166 Nigerians died of Cerebrospinal Meningitis.
#COVID19 #COVID19Nigeria

In 2017, .@NCDC had a budget of N1.5b. Only N782m was released. In the same year, more than 120 Nigerians contracted Monkeypox & 7 people died from the disease. That same year, the @MBuhari budgeted N77m for Aso Rock rent, N1b for trips and sitting allowances, and N94m for meals.

In 2018, the NCDC had a budget of N1.9b. Only N654m was released. In the same year, N7.2b was proposed for Presidential Air Fleet. #COVID19

N440m was proposed for mandatory upgrade & installation of live TV & internet service in presidential aircrafts, N375m for new cabin, N418m for landing gears. In total, over N1b was budgeted for the presidential aircrafts which is used for medical tourism & frequent trips abroad.

On November 12, 2018, the @NCDCgov establishment bill was signed by @NGRPresident @MBuhari , thanks to the efforts of @SenOhuabunwa , the then Chair, Senate Committee on Primary Healthcare and Communicable Diseases. #COVID19

On this premise, the NCDC was empowered with a legislation for its work in preventing and preparing for outbreaks of infectious diseases. Interestingly, the NCDC got the worst budget in 2019, the year following the passage of the NCDC Act. #COVID19

The Centre had a budget of N1.4b, but only N224m was released. In the same year, over 472 Nigerians were diagnosed with Lassa fever and over 110 people died from this viral hemorrhagic fever. Clearly, NCDC cannot perform magic.
#COVID19 #COVID19Nigeria

They need help. Nigeria is grossly under-testing for COVID-19, the laboratories are not enough, and NCDC and its affiliate agencies do not have enough manpower and resources. #COVID19 #COVID19Nigeria

Months ago, being unwell evoked empathy; today being unwell evokes fear. The fear of COVID-19?
No! It is the fear of not having access to the care that you need, the fear of absence of ventilators, the fear of a broken health system. It is the fear of death.
#COVID19

Our political leaders have stolen from the sick through corruption. Many Nigerian governors build non-functional hospitals in their states. Usually, after the commissioning of these hospitals, the medical machines—some of them fake—are returned or left to rot.

Hospitals in Nigeria are some of the worst in the world. Our teaching hospitals are now museums where less than 5% of clinical trial and research is going on because of poor laboratories.
#COVID19 #COVID19Nigeria

Medical tourism has therefore become the norm. Dubai, Saudi Arabian hospitals, etc., are advertising in Abuja & Lagos for Nigerian patients. They are recruiting Nigerian doctors, including consultants. Nigeria is not only facing “brain drain,” we are also facing “patient drain.”

Our doctors and nurses work in the worst conditions. Hazard allowance for health workers is about N5,000 while wardrobe allowance for members of the National Assembly (@nassnigeria @HouseNGR @NGRSenate ) runs into millions.

Now is the time for Nigeria to confront its healthcare crisis. The Nigerian government must accept its failure.
Our political leaders must brace up to their responsibility and seriously reflect on the problem their greed has brought to Nigeria and Nigerians.
#COVID19

This is the time to invest in a result-oriented healthcare system. Health is wealth as the saying goes.
A good healthcare system is the foundation of any nation.

#COVID19 #COVID19Nigeria #coronavirusuk

If we survive COVID-19, we need to consider a law to restrict all public officials from seeking medical care abroad. It may be perceived as strict, but it will save future generations since we don’t know which pandemic would come next and when. #COVID19 #COVID19Nigeria

Let’s give every Nigerian a space to live and a not chance to die.

Please RT. Thanks.

Runcie C.W. Chidebe
Cancer Control Advocate.