The Federal Government has defended foreign medical trips by political leaders, arguing that people are free to seek treatment in any part of the world.
This is according to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Muhammad Pate.
“Don’t conflate the quality of our healthcare system and what it has to offer and the choices that individuals can make for various reasons. Some may choose because they’ve got a provider, or they have other things,” Pate said on Friday.
“Tourism is something that everybody has a right to choose wherever he wants to go and you cannot constrain people. We are not in a communist system where you say, ‘Everybody has to be treated here’.”
Nigerian leaders have faced severe criticisms over the years for going abroad to seek medical care. Critics say the move is an indictment on the country’s health sector and shows the leaders do not trust Nigeria’s healthcare system.
In May, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said Nigerians spent $3.82m on foreign healthcare-related services between January and December 2023.
But the minister said the country’s healthcare system is improving with top professionals working in Nigeria contrary to widely-held belief.
Peoplesmind
