NMA collaborates to boost services and tackle medical tourism.

By Sherifat Oyediran, Lagos.

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has also proposed adopting public-private Partnerships (PPPs) in the health sector to enhance sustainability and efficiency and reverse medical tourism in favour of the country.

The proposal was made during a medical expo held by the association to find ways of strengthening Nigeria’s private health industry and reducing the number of health workers leaving for greener pastures.

NMA President, prof. Bala Audu explained that the adverse effects of medical tourism would get worse unless an intervention is done as a nation.

According to him, the global market for medical tourism is expected to reach $180 billion by 2030 as Nigeria contributes as an exporter of patients with an annual flight capital of over $2 billion to medical tourism.

Audu also explained that the intervention is geared towards the provision of national policy, backed by fiscal policies to boost the private and public-private partnership that will strategically place Nigeria at face value with the most competitive destinations of medical tourism, in addition to strengthening international best practices.

Speaking on the current challenges faced by the association, Prof Audu noted that ” members were overstretched due to excess workload “.

” The few professionals remaining in the country struggled to give their best to ensure the same quality of health care provided abroad, thereby overworking themselves “. He noted

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, said “It is important that the government ensures that the healthcare space is protected to accommodate private investment “.

In an interview with newsmen, the 1st Vice President of NMA, Dr Benjamin Olowojebutu, listed the importance of reversing medical tourism, including building trust, improving health care services, and reducing Japa syndrome, stressing that for these reasons, the association had to be at the forefront.

Olowojebutu, who is also the chairman Local Organizing Committee of the expo pointed out that, ” partnering with private equity, private institutions will contribute significantly to fixing the problem.

According to him, “We have a hospital that does 16 kidney transplants every month “, we have a hospital that can carry out cardiovascular surgery in a few hours and ” we have health experts coming from Niger, Mali, to see what we do”.