THE health of the people determines the level of economic and social progressions of the people. Social thinkers have even elevated health as wealth. A healthy nation is certainly a wealthy nation. Our country Nigeria must work assiduously to attaining this goal. At the moment our health conditions are pathetic. We have abandoned hospitals all over the country. The existing ones are not adequately provided for because of inadequate, foreign resources. One of the illusion of our people, is the obsession with dependence. When we say that our hospital are inadequately provided for, we mean we do not have the money to import drugs, facilities, doctors, etc.
The question is what kind of a nation and healthy-wealthy are we aspiring to build if such purported adequacy is contingent on our ability to import foreign drugs and equipment rather than developing same internally. No nation can claim true health independence, if it must rely on importation of all her medical needs. So, the vision 2015 must begin a revolution in this direction.
The revolution must be instantaneous, effective and vigorously pursued.
The Federal Government must conclude the arrangements without further delay for the completion of all health institutions that have been abandoned over the years.
The following focus must be addressed:
(1) Completion of all projects abandoned at all the university teaching hospitals nation-wide.
(2) Completion of all state specialist or general hospital nation-wide.
(3) Completion of all school of Nursing and Midwifery where ever they are, and the upgrading of all health centres to general hospitals in the entire country.
Federal Government must ensure that in the next 20 years of Inroad into this vision, all quacks in all the professions are dismissed immediately.
The following bodies should be area of immediate focus:
(1) All quacks in the mass media, Insurance etc.
(2) The Nigerian Medical Association should identify any quacks in the medical field.
(3) All quacks in the koodoo medicine, and practices.
(4) All quacks in legal profession. All those who parade themselves as lawyers when they do not possess the requisite education and professional qualification to be so identified.
(5) All quacks in the finance sector, particularly the Accounting Profession. The National body responsible for the certification of professional accountants must tighten their belt and fight the battle within its ranks.
(6) All quacks in the pharmaceutical industries hat produce fake drugs.
(7) All quacks in paramedical services, be they nurses, midwives, health attendants etc.
(8) All quacks in laboratory technology and instrument application services.
The Federal Government must begin now, a phase introduction of the National Insurance Health Scheme, all workers in both public and private sectors should, have a percentage of their salary deducted for this scheme. All self employed person should be given a lump sum to pay during payment of personal income tax in a year.
The scheme should be worked out in such a way that every Nigerian is contributing according to his or her ability and wage capabilities and to all according to his or her needs.
The Federal Government should put in placed a law which shall empower and provide for an accident victim in any parts of the country to be admitted, treated, administered unto in the event of an emergency and any hospital, whether private or public that refuses to treat an accident victim merely on the excuse of inability to pay any prescribed bill upon admission should be fined the sum of 20,000 (Twenty Thousand Naira). That upon full investigation, all accident victims whose accident is occasioned by the negligence any of the parties using the road, street or public highway, shall then or immediately bear the full responsibility of all medical expenses incurred by the victim or reimburse the hospital or clinic.
All Nigerians shall be concerned about accident victims and where ever an accident happens, no matter the degree and distance, the next immediate persons should see it, as a responsibility to assist and provide the first aid required; the people should never be deterred by the fear of the police who when contacted about an accident would almost turn a good Samaritan to a culprit and begin to ask all sort of intimidating questions. Our vision now is that we must learn no matter how difficult it may be to our brothers keeper, even when the police may wish to deter us from this universal principals. We must also understand too that the police has as duty to be updated with adequate information that will assist their investigation as it is sometimes possible at a culprit may often pose as a good Samaritan. The whole processes bother on growth.
The Federal Government must begin, now the enforcement of the rules that all form of medication or treatment must begin to have verification and quantifiable standard. The Nigerian standard organisation must be active in this direction. As we move forward into the complex decades, no one can afford to leave critical national issues that bother on life and death on the premises of guess work.
