Femi Falana

The right of Nigerians to health

Instead of wasting precious time over the state of health of the President we should join issue with the State over the parlous state of medical facilities in the country. In other words, the Nigerian people should take advantage of the President’s health to demand the provision of adequate funds to fix our hospitals which General Buhari and his colleagues described as consulting clinics in 1984. The President should be made to know that the consulting clinics have since become mortuaries for the masses. The practice of allowing poor citizens to die of preventable diseases while top public officers and rich private citizens are allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment can no longer be justified. In line with the letter and spirit of the National Health Act, 2014 public officers should no longer be permitted to travel abroad for medical treatment at public expense.

Since Nigerian citizens have the right to health by the combined effect of section 17 of the Constitution and article 16 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Act is high time our medical facilities were fixed while drugs are made available and affordable. The usual excuse for not equipping our hospitals is that funds are not available. With respect, it is a matter of priority and not poverty. The life span of an average Cuban is 79 years while ours is 52. Cuba is a very poor country but education and health are free for all citizens.

The greatest killer disease in Africa is malaria. Not less than a million Africans are lost to malaria fever every year. But the scourge of malaria can be substantially eliminated if the leaders are prepared to muster the political will to ‘offend’ the manufacturers of anti-malaria drugs by acquiring the technology to destroy malaria.

As far back as 1967, Cuba developed a vaccine, called larvicides that destroys malaria parasite instead of treating it. Cuba has also developed an anti long cancer vaccine called cimavax which is expected to arrive in the United States any moment from now. Yet, in solidarity with western based drug manufacturing companies our leaders are not prepared to collaborate with the Cubans in destroying malaria and combating cancer and other diseases.

Owing to the struggle of Beko and other progressive people the ruling class has reluctantly enacted the National Health Act, 2014. The Act broadly provides a comprehensive legal framework for the regulation, development and management of a national health care system and set standard for rendering health services in the federation.

The Act has also established a Basic Health Care Provision Fund which shall be financed from the annual grant of not less than one percent (1%) of the consolidated revenue fund of the federal government; grants by international donors and funds from any other source.

While all Nigerians are entitled to a basic minimum package of health services the Minister of Health, in consultation with the National Council on Health, may prescribe conditions subject to which categories of persons may be eligible for exemption from payment for health care services at public health establishments.

In determining persons who may be entitled to exemption from payment for health services in public health establishments, the minister shall have regard to “the needs of vulnerable groups such as women, children, older persons and persons with disabilities.” However, the National Council on Health is under an obligation to “ensure that children between the ages of zero and five years and pregnant women are immunized with vaccines against infectious diseases.”

Under the National Programme on Immunization Act, there is no limitation with respect to age as the government is required to effectively control, through immunization and the provision of vaccines the occurrence of certain deadly diseases such as tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, neonatal tetanus, measles, diseases of women of child-bearing age and so on. The National Council on Health shall ensure the delivery of basic health services to the people of Nigeria and prioritize other health services that may be prescribed from time to time by the Minister of Health after consultation with the National Council on Health.
The “basic minimum package” means the set of health services as may be prescribed from time to time by the Minister of Health after consultation with the National Council on Health.

Without prejudice to the right of any Nigerian, no public officer shall be sponsored for medical check-up, investigation or treatment abroad at public expense except in exceptional cases on the recommendation and referral by the medical board and which recommendation or referral shall be duly approved by the Minister or the Commissioner of Health of the state as the case may be. It is pertinent to point out that a health care provider, health worker or health establishment shall not refuse a person emergency medical treatment for any reason whatsoever.

Indeed, the penalty for refusing to attend to a person in emergency condition is a fine of ¦ 100,000.00 (one hundred thousand naira) or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months. Therefore, the demand for police report before treating people with gunshot wounds is illegal.

Going by the letter and spirit of the act it is indisputable that the right to health has been elevated to the level of justifiability as anyone denied of access to basic health has the unquestionable right to seek redress in court.

If religiously implemented by the federal government, the act is going to tackle all preventable diseases including infant and maternal mortality. But the 1% contribution from the federal government consolidated revenue fund is totally inadequate in actualizing the right of the Nigerian people to basic health.

Apart from recommending not less than 20% from the federal, state and local governments to fund the health sector we call on the federal government to collaborate with the Cuban government in tacking and eliminating malaria fever, typhoid fever, meningitis and other preventable diseases.

From the foregoing, I wish to state that the right to health cannot be realized without an effective health care delivery system.

To actualize the right to health for the majority of citizens the federal, state and local governments should be compelled to implement the National Health Insurance Act and the National Health Act which have guaranteed access to good health care services to the Nigerian people. In addition, government should, as a matter of urgency, fix and equip all public hospitals and medical centres and encourage. Since Beko would have wished President Buhari a speedy recovery to return to his desk to fix the crises plaguing the nation let the CDHR intensify the struggle for a new Nigeria where our socioeconomic rights including the right to health of every citizen will be guaranteed and realized.

–Being the speech delivered by Femi Falana at the 11th Beko Ransome-kuti memorial lecture held in Lagos on Sunday, February 12, 2017