The Founder of Empower Nurses Consult ENC, Mr Princewill Aghedo, has said to reposition Nigeria’s healthcare system requires strategic and visionary leadership.
According to him, ministers and commissioners of health must have the requisite experience to draw from in terms of education and understanding of the country’s health terrain, not those who have been abroad for many years who would come and introduce foreign policies.
“We need people who understand Afrocentric response and approaches to manage health care. Effective leadership and management are vital. Budgetary allocation of health should also be increased,” he said.
“Repositioning our health care starts with leadership. There is only little individuals can do to improve the level of Healthcare service delivery in Nigeria, mainly those in power.
“Budgetary allocation of health should also be increased. An average Nigerian is one major disease away from poverty. A family whose total income in a year is around 2 or N3 million, and they have chronic kidney disease or heart problems, that family would be very poor in some months. Thus, health care insurance should be prioritised to help every,” he said.
The award-winning healthcare practitioner, who is committed to uplifting the profile and status of nurses across the continent, said when health funding is increased, many facets of our healthcare services will be revamped, especially “emergency response” service would receive a boost.
“We don’t have government Emergency evacuation services like Helipads that can airlift people in times of emergency in areas far away from the hospitals. It is quite sad,” he added.
On why healthcare workers leave the country in droves, Aghedo said: “Many healthcare workers leave the country because they no longer feel secure; not just nurses. In fact, a lot of bankers are resigning and leaving, even from the tech and creative industry. From the latest tourism index, Nigeria is one of the top 5 unsafe countries to live in on earth. Then, the poor health care system; health workers are not well remunerated, and they are owed a backlog of salaries. We have also seen strikes from health workers. For me, I cannot cope with the reality that I go on strike for six months and my patient suffers. They leave the system so that the effects of poor governance do not affect their mental health.”
He urged the government to take a cue from developed countries on what they are doing to attract and retain healthcare workers.
“In one year over 7,000 nurses have left Nigeria and we graduate around 5,000 nurses yearly. It means our population is growing, while the number of nurses is reduced by half. Instead of having a nurse to 1,000 families, we now have a nurse to 8,000 families. Government should also prioritise the welfare of health workers. The last time their salary was increased for them was when Yakubu Gowon’s wife advocated because she was a nurse then. Government should put up attractive policies to make people work. Nigeria Medical Association should collaborate with nurses leaving the country to drive development and reposition the nation’s health system,” Aghedo stated.
The nursing executive noted that one of the things that give him fulfilment is touching lives every day.
“Awareness of certain problems fires me up to touch lives. For me, as a nurse advocate, I have a robust knowledge of challenges nurses are facing in Nigeria, hence I am able to design and plan innovative solution blueprints through public partnership and collaboration with organisations to bring changes to health care and support nurses,” he added.
On how he would impact nursing, he said: “I am going to ensure that in my area of interest which involves public health and nursing advocacy, there would be a fair representation of nursing across different areas of development. I will ensure that I am constantly involved in groundbreaking research that can improve global health response in terms of infection control, pandemic preparedness, and emergency response, so we can change the world with our profession as individuals by making it put smiles on the faces of people.”
Aghedo, comparing the Canadian health system with Nigeria’s, said:
“Canada is one of the top destinations for nurses across the globe. The pay is encouraging. A nurse earns an average of $35-60 per hour. So, people want to work there. Then advancement in nursing opportunities, you can become an advanced health practitioner. In Nigeria even if you have a PhD, you would work as a senior nurse. The system in Canada allows you to become a practitioner. Generally, nursing is rewarding in Canada. With your certification, you can be a director of care in a nursing home. In contrast to Nigeria, their system is intentional and targeted at people. This is because everyone pays tax, hence, the government is ready to ensure that taxpayers’ money is utilised to provide access to holistic healthcare. Free healthcare is not compromised, it is of high quality, it is standardised and everyone benefits. Even the prime Minister receives care from government hospitals.”