Medical Tourism: Buhari Resurrects Hypocrisy Allegations

Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has again resurrected accusations of hypocrisy against himself from the Nigerian masses after making another statement on medical tourism. 

Speaking at Alex Ekwueme Federal University in Ebonyi state today, Buhari, represented by the minister of Health, Dr Osagie Emmanuel Ehanire, urged Nigerians to obtain medical treatment within the borders of Nigeria rather than travelling abroad for that purpose. 

Buhari first made this ‘plea’ on November 5th 2019 at the Second National Health Summit of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Abuja where it was also emphasized that Nigerians spend over $1 billion every year seeking medical help abroad. 

In his first term in office (2015-2019) he spent close to 200 days outside the borders of Nigeria mainly for the purpose of receiving medical care in London. 

In 2017, he was absent from the country for 104 consecutive days. No Nigerian president or head of state has been out of the country for any reason more times than Muhammadu Buhari. This might even hold true for the continent as a whole. 

In April 2016, months before his first London medical tour, Buhari strongly criticized the use of Nigerian tax payers money on international medical expenses.

According to a statement from the Health Ministry at the time.  Buhari is quoted to have said, “While this administration will not deny anyone of his or her fundamental human rights, we will certainly not encourage expending Nigerian hard-earned resources on any government official seeking medical care abroad, when such can be handled in Nigeria”.

Medical tourism among Nigerians is chiefly due to the deplorable state of the Nigerian health care system.

In November 2018, the national Secretary of the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI), Dr. Theophilus Ndubuaku, said during a launching function that Nigeria losses N359.2 billion to medical tourism annually, which is more than the N340.45 billion allocated the health sector  in the 2018 budget. He went further to state that that figure represented 3.9 per cent of the total N8.6 trillion expenditure plan.

He is quoted to have said:  “Through an average of 9,000 medical tours occurring monthly from Nigeria to other countries, the nation losses 1.35 billion dollars annually to medical tourism, with India being the major beneficiary of 500 visits monthly. Many Nigerians who travel out of the country for their medical  needs often have to go back-monthly for check-ups and sometimes for corrective surgery.”

The global health standards recommend a doctor to patient ratio of 1:600. Under the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration, it was 1 doctor to 4000 patients, however, under the Buhari administration it has worsened; it is now 1 doctor to 5000 patients. Some sources believe there are 10,000 people per doctor in Nigeria.

The NMA (Nigerian Medical Association) in 2019 disclosed that two thousand medical workers leave Nigeria in search of greener pastures every year. 

Five African Union countries including Nigeria met in April 2001 and pledged to channel at least 15% of their annual budget to health care. To this very year, Nigeria remains far from reaching the goal and has continued to rank low in global health surveys.