Page 4 - Nile Explorer Issue 007

corruption, official wastage and misman- The private sector already delivers about
agement. half of Africa's health products and
In 2001, member States of the African services. Africa’s future healthcare model
Union committed to allocate at least 15 should be designed to develop close
per cent of their annual budgets to health- partnership between the public and
care; commonly referred to as the Abuja private sectors, including improvements
target, but few countries have achieved to regulatory oversight of private health
this target or even make effort. Most care, and encouraging the private sector
Fred Oduke would rather allocate funds to their to invest in healthcare to improve its
sustainability, while assuring affordabili-
Learn from global defense spending, which in most cases, is ty.
unaudited and out of public scrutiny.
COVID 19 lockdowns to Addressing the lack of infrastructure to By private sector, here we include private
develop local healthcare deliver health care, the shortage of skilled providers; including for-profit and
capacity healthcare professionals, as well as their not-for-profit enterprises and faith based
organizations that have for many years
training and access to education, is a vital
T he COVID 19 pandemic has exposed aspect to meeting health care challenges been to provider affordable healthcare in
many parts of rural Africa.
African countries. Although the
challenge of healthcare provision in the across the continent. It is paradoxical
therefore, that in some of the countries Moreover, it is possible to encourage
fight against the corona virus has not like Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria private investment in the manufacture of
spared the developed world, Africa where training institutions produce important medical equipment and drugs
remains the missing link in the fight. This medical personnel; these are never and other higher-quality services through
is particularly worrying, God forbid; the absorbed in employment, leading to deliberate policy initiatives. Currently,
spread of the virus does not become massive brain-drain to the west, while the continent imports basic drugs that can
community transmitted to the scale being many doctors and nurses remain unem- ideally be manufactured locally. African
witnessed in Italy, Iran or the US. ployed and under-employed. countries need to collaborate in such
Health care in Sub-Saharan Africa It is true indeed that ensuring access to areas to deliver.
remains the worst in the world, with few quality healthcare for all at affordable It make nonsense, that 60years after
countries able to spend the $34 to $40 a rates in Africa is constrained by a scarcity independence, African countries still
year per person that the World Health of public resources, but the out-of-pocket import such mundane items like surgical
Organization considers the minimum for expenditure model that African countries gloves, needles and syringes, face masks,
basic health care. And despite widespread employ in public healthcare, creates hospital beds, name it; such basic medical
poverty, an astonishing 50 percent of the financial barriers to access health services consumables of which technology to
region’s health expenditure is financed by and puts people at risk of impoverish- manufacture widely exist.
out-of-pocket payments from individuals, ment, slows down poverty reduction and
with governments continually ignoring exacerbates inequalities. Post COVID 19, Africa has depended on donors for far too
the UN recommendations on invest- African countries must rethink their long, leading to inefficiencies, lethargy
ments in healthcare. healthcare systems and adopt models that and complacence in the management of
our affairs. The ever ballooning public
Donors have over the years done a are sustainable and people friendly. debt is yet another killer that continues to
remarkable job providing support the A new model for dealing with healthcare crowd-out both public and private invest-
continent to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculo- must emerge from the challenge of ment into healthcare.
sis, and malaria which would otherwise COVID 19, It should never be business as
have wiped out millions. However, usual moving forward. Clearly, there are Across Africa, the deep state, cartels and
expected economic recession in the west, lessons to be learnt by African govern- public official have rigged public policy
brought about by the COVID 19 pandem- ments and the political leadership—the and manipulate systems to benefit
ic, means Africa will need to prepare for latter fly out of their countries to access individuals in government, who own
the worst, as donor funding will certainly healthcare in developed countries— while companies that do business with govern-
dry up. under funding healthcare for the masses. ment, including in the import of essential
drugs and equipment.
National health systems in most African And therefore, if there is any lesson to be
countries struggle with insufficient and learnt, is that a time comes when you will If we refuse to learn from the global
inequitably distributed resources, and have no luxury to access hospitals in the COVID 19 lockdowns to develop local
even when allocations are made, in a West or East. So, do not neglect local capacity, then, we are the biggest enemies
majority of the countries, a large percent- healthcare, there could be another of ourselves.
age of the funding siphoned out through lockdown ahead. editor@nilexplore.net

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