The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has called on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to borrow a leaf from his counterparts in the United States and United Kingdom in terms of building a viable health sector .
Speaking in a recent interview, National President of NARD, Dr Okhuaihesuyi Uyilawa disclosed that it is rare to see US President Joe Biden or Prime Minister Boris Johnson travelling out of their domain in search of quality healthcare.
Uyilawa further made reference to how Johnson’s COVID-19 infection was treated in a public facility in the UK a without fuss.
He argued that these are simple basic lessons that Buhari and other policy makers need to learn to build a strong and viable health system that would outlive their regime.
“These are real-time issues, corruption is our major issue, if they invest in health care in Nigeria, trust me people won’t emigrate. President Joe Biden seeks help in America, PM Boris Johnson had COVID-19 and was treated in a public facility in the UK because, over the years, they have built good health systems and are still largely investing in public facilities. We continue to push on.
“Unfortunately, the high and the mighty enslave and impoverish us. When we take ill, we are left to the poor health care facilities. When they are sick, they go to the UK, their wives to Dubai, their daughters give birth in Dubai, their sons seek healthcare in Germany,” he said.
