HEALTH SECURITY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN NIGERIA
HEALTH SECURITY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN NIGERIA

Summary/Abstract: The study examined the concept of health security and its applicability in Nigeria and upheld its desirability because safety is man’s most prized want, including health security. However, the culture of Nigeria’s ruling class, which relies on overseas medical tourism, made them unaware of this phenomenon. The study applied the descriptive design, using the case study as an investigation tool, since health security is embedded in human security. The case study procedure revealed that Nigeria spent merely two thousand Naira per capita per population. This was reflected in the country’s low budgetary allocation each year, which is also the lowest in the African continent. This accounted for why the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) embarked on strike action often as means to demonstrate inadequacies in the sector and to make the ruling elite understand the symbiosis between human and health security to prompt them to allocate resources adequately to both areas. This approach revealed that to have health security, infrastructure must be provided adequately at three levels, namely primary, secondary, and tertiary health centers, respectively. These levels must support each other, and the services should be accessible, available, and affordable. Health security must form part of the agenda for public policy in the health sector because it is unknown to public policy drivers and the National Planning Commission that design developmental plans for Nigeria. In the absence of a functional national health insurance scheme, affordable health security is an alternative. This is one of the major ways in which the life-expectancy of Nigerians, who live in a country surrounded by brutish living conditions, can improve. Amongst others, this study proposed that the ruling elite should obtain their healthcare needs within the country, whilst all employers who have 25-30 employees, should establish a health insurance scheme for their employees.

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