STOP PRAYING FOR NIGERIA'S HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY !

Today Singapore ranks sixth in the world in healthcare outcomes well ahead of many developed countries, including the United States. The results are all the more significant as Singapore spends less on healthcare than any other high-income country, both as measured by fraction of the Gross Domestic Product spent on health and by costs per person. Singapore achieves these results at less than one-fourth the cost of healthcare in the United States and about half that of Western European countries. Government leaders, presidents and prime ministers, finance ministers and ministers of health, policymakers in congress and parliament, public health officials responsible for healthcare systems planning, finance and operations, as well as those working on healthcare issues in universities and think-tanks should know how this system works to achieve affordable excellence.

The lessons from Singapore should be of interest to those currently planning the future of Nigeria's healthcare industry, for Singapore was not always rich. In just 50 years, Singapore transformed itself from a low- income country to one that has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, from a country with poor health outcomes to one of the best in the world. What was the philosophy and what were the key decisions that drove this transformation? 

This should be the question on the minds of Policy makers, Government Officials and Healthcare Professionals. We need more than Prayers. In fact as a matter of fact, we have prayed enough. Its time to get to research, its time to make policy that will yield results. Enough of inflated contracts, enough of constructing building just to enrich our pockets. Too many healthcare infrastructure but designed to fail. Lets play down on Corruption as the Healthcare Industry revamp is our collective responsibility. If we continue to pray about this, God will continue to wait till we are ready to use our brain and implement the right policies that will transform our healthcare industry.

I think it is desservice to Nigeria, if we continue to be hypocritical, we have been praying for the last 50 years, it is time to get to work. 

'Faith without work is Death' 

God Bless Nigeria!

Sunday Clement,

Lagos, Nigeria

Email: [email protected]

Reference: Affordable Excellence (The Singapore Healthcare Story).