The pandemic has highlighted the problems within our healthcare system, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
Over the past two years, the pandemic has focused attention on the healthcare system and the solutions to fix it. It has also highlighted the importance of bridging the gap between growing inequalities in Nigeria, increasing poverty, as well as the efforts needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals established by the World Health Organization.
Health is an equaliser and something that affects everyone and therefore unites everyone: the rich, the poor, the unemployed, and the employed. Everyone.
Although it is very tempting for many to ignore the problem and say, “someone else will take care of that,” it’s simply not true. We have a collective responsibility to ourselves, our businesses, and our communities to do something about the state of Nigeria’s healthcare system.
In a country with the largest number of poor people globally, and where an estimated 30 million people will be living in extreme poverty by 2030, the COVID–19 pandemic has highlighted the vulnerability of our health system and our people.
We believe that through collaboration and effort we can solve the problems and take the necessary steps toward better healthcare for all. But the government can’t do this alone. The private sector must get involved and collaborate with the government to provide adequate healthcare services. It has to be a collective effort.
ADOPT-A-HEALTHCARE-FACILITY PROGRAMME
In 2019, and even before we knew that the COVID -19 pandemic would hit the world, one of PSHAN’s directors, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, expressed the view that it is unacceptable that Africa continues to suffer the effects of pandemics (such as HIV and malaria) long after the rest of the world has put them to bed.
In 2020, and with the onset of the pandemic, the weaknesses and inadequacies of our healthcare system were brought to the forefront and reinforced why the Adopt-A-Healthcare-Facility Programme was conceptualised a year earlier. It also became clear that the problems we face are on both the demand and supply sides.
Strengthening primary health centres is key to improving Nigeria’s health indicators, which are currently among the worst in Africa and the rest of the world. PSHAN saw the opportunity to create 774 primary healthcare centres (PHCs) through existing centres or built from scratch to alleviate the problems resulting from unequal access to affordable, quality healthcare.
This year, we hope to partner with and establish 20 primary healthcare centres to improve the lives of local communities in desperate need of accessible healthcare. It is a massive undertaking, as each PHC requires security, potable water, electricity, building, staff, HR resources and remuneration, medicine, equipment, furniture and furnishings, staff training, monitoring and evaluation, quality control, and an end-to-end value chain.
The ADHFP will operate through a chain of integrated primary health centres and will be sponsored by corporations, foundations, philanthropists, or individual investors who will fund the build or upgrade of a PHC. Each PHC may be operated independently or in partnership with the government and leverage existing supply chain networks in the private and public sectors.
WHY YOU SHOULD CONTRIBUTE
We believe in the power of collaboration to fundamentally transform the health sector. While PSHAN plays a pivotal role in Nigeria’s health ecosystem, we need synergistic partnerships among stakeholders to provide access to life-saving and durable medical interventions to Nigerians in need.
We will continue to bear the painful and shameful burden of high disease mortality long after the rest of the world has overcome these challenges. We must address the poor state of our health systems at the primary level – and we must start today.
Join Our Impressive Network Of Forward-Thinking Leaders And Support ADHFP Today.
Please contact the Memberships and Partnerships team at memberships@pshan.org for more information about becoming a PSHAN member or ADPHF adopter.
