The saga between the Lagos State Physician Group and the Lagos State Government is finally over. All previously fired doctors were rehired right before other chapters of the same labor group made real their threats to join the struggle. It was a mess and a glaringly evidence of the breakdown of the Nigerian health system. The victim is the patient, 70% of those who simply cannot afford to go to private hospitals since they cannot afford the cost of care there.
So how do we go about changing the system? What reforms will matter in the long run?
We attempt to answer these questions in this edition of the Nigerians Talk Health Desk.
Hezekiah Shobiye continues his detailed and thorough analysis of the health system financing mechanism, with the Part 2 of the Paying for Health Series. His analysis is certainly worth reading and is incredibly timely as it presents the plight of those poor Nigerians whose lives are worse of because of the inefficient health financing system we have in place.
Maimunat Adeomi, a seasoned physician and a Global Health Fellow writes on the institutional difficulties in meeting the Millennium Development Goals 4, which calls for the world to reduce child mortality. This chilling analytical piece shows just how far Nigeria currently is in saving the lives of the most vulnerable, our children.
Speaking of Children, Tayo O writes about the horrors that parents of Autistic Children in Nigerian might face without a proper social and medical support system. Autism in Nigeria does not get its due analysis in our country and considering just how many Autistic Nigerians there are, this is a conversation that is long overdue. Tayo O’s kind and informational piece starts the conversation.
Oyedeji Aderemi brilliantly evaluates the new strategy of reforming the primary health care delivery system in his Doctor’s Note column. It is not good news. There is so much wrong with the entire institutional framework that attempting to reform a part of a rotten whole is likely to result in failure.
I am especially proud of this informative and analytical edition. It improves upon the silence and that is the goal of the Nigerians Talk Health Desk.
Temie Giwa
Editor.