Vice-Chancellor of Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Funtua, Prof. Bala Shehu, has advocated for adequate funding and equipping of all the teaching hospitals to further enhance healthcare delivery in the country.
Shehu stated this in his keynote address at the Nigeria Surgical Congress, tagged: “Eko Akete 2025” in Lagos on Thursday.
Newsmen reports that the congress had as its theme: “Innovative and Sustainable Financing for Surgical Care”, with the sub-theme: “Advances in Surgery: The Nigerian Situation.”
Shehu said that hospitals and health facilities across the country, particularly teachings hospitals, should be properly funded and adequately equipped with modern facilities to enhance effective and efficient discharge of their healthcare responsibilities.
He said that properly funded and well-equipped hospitals would keep young surgeons in the country and prevent frequent medical tourism abroad by Nigerians.
The neuro-surgeon also called for expansion of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in order to prevent Nigerians from spending their lifetime savings on surgeries.
“Our healthcare financing is not what it should be, but we can do better and make it easier for every Nigerian to access healthcare delivery without going bankrupt,” he said.
Shehu also decried poor electricity supply in hospitals in the country, saying that this might make the process of carrying out surgeries difficult, if not impossible.
According to him, if the hospitals can be made to perform at their optimal levels, they will be able to perform most of the surgeries that people are seeking outside the country.
He decried the rate at which medical doctors were leaving the country for greener pastures, saying that it should be considered as a national security issue and addressed by government without further delay.
The vice-chancellor noted that one of the reasons for the mass exodus of medical doctors from the country was poor pay which most of the medical experts had found difficult to survive on.
He said that the standard of the hospitals should be improved and the remunerations of medical doctors reviewed upward in order to keep the country’s health sector running effectively and efficiently.
