The Basis and Need
The status of healthcare in Nigeria and Africa has been in the headlines with reference to the recent Ebola crisis and the continued HIV/AIDS pandemic. As an intervention, AIDE seeks to create a comprehensive, integrated, patient-centered healthcare delivery system with hospitals, health centers, and clinics; providing primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare services.
At AIDE, we have conducted an introspective review and analysis of healthcare in Nigeria and Africa and discovered the following:
- The continent of Africa bears the greatest disease burden per capita of any other region in the world.
- Many diseases that are rarely seen in developed countries – such as cholera, tetanus and polio – still lead to death in Nigeria, as many healthcare facilities in the country lack necessary resources. ·
- Very few of Nigeria’s state-run hospitals, general hospitals, local dispensaries and private and non-governmental clinics offer better than fair healthcare services, medical equipment and facilities.
- Certain routine pharmaceuticals are not available in Nigeria, and the generic are not necessarily dependable. The preferred brand name over-the-counter medications are scarce.
- The lack of quality integrated healthcare in Nigeria is particularly a stark reality.
- Pharmacies in most Nigerian cities may not stock most of the usual medications seen in the Western economies.
- Emergency medical response times in Nigeria are notoriously slow. A few private medical emergency services are in operation, although coverage in rural areas may be limited.
The need for high quality healthcare option is stronger than ever in Africa; expected to grow exponentially especially in Nigeria. As Africa’s largest economy, GDP ($594 billion in 2014), as well as its most populated nation, Nigeria provides strong economic indicators for this activity.