By KEMI AKINTOKUN

As Nigeria celebrates 65 years of independence from colonial rule on Wednesday, some senior citizens are urging the government to urgently improve the nation’s health infrastructure.

According to them, governments at all levels should ensure access to affordable, quality healthcare delivery across the country.

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday, the elderly citizens emphasised that a functional health system was key to fulfilling the promise of independence for all.

Mr Ajani Buhari, a 71-year-old retiree who worked in the private sector, said the nation’s healthcare sector had witnessed significant development compared to the past.

Buhari said the increase in the number of both government and private hospitals brought healthcare services nearer to the people and advancement in technology over the years.

“Healthcare in Nigeria in the past is not comparable to what have today.

“In the past, we had few hospitals owned by government but today, the number of government-owned and private hospitals have doubled thereby bringing healthcare nearer to the people.

“People travelled far distance to access care in the past and what we had then was dispensary, where doctors will attend to you and give drugs,” he said.

The septuagenarian, however, urged the government to revamp the primary health centres across the country as a way of reducing the work load on healthcare professionals in government hospitals.

“In the past, you can’t go to a General Hospital except you are referred to get advanced care but today, people prefer to visit general hospitals because some of the PHCs are not functioning adequately,” he said.

Also, Mrs Abosede Aramolate, a 64-years-old retired staff of the Lagos State Local Government Service Commission, said the nation’s health sector had fared well since independence.

Aramolate noted that in spite of the improvement, issues like strikes, shortage of health personnel, inadequate infrastructure and others still plagued the sector.

She urged government to provide good remuneration, conducive working environment and adequate infrastructure that would discourage health workers from leaving the country.

“Our present healthcare delivery is better than what it was in the past but government needs to do more for our doctors and nurses to keep them back home.

“Those who have stayed back are overwhelmed and they are not giving there best because of the number of patients some of these doctors attend to daily,” she said.

She also urged government at all levels to provide a sustainable health insurance scheme that would increase access to prompt and affordable care in the country.

Mr Fidelis Chukwuemeka, 73, a former business man, told NAN that it was unfortunate that the country had yet to get it right in the health sector after 65 years of independent rule.

Chukwuemeka attributed the current state of the sector to lack of political will from both past and present government to prioritise the health of Nigerians.

He urged the President Bola Tinubu led government to take a bold step to address the numerous health challenges affecting the country.

He said: “The problem in our health system is not something that started today; it has lingered for years without a permanent solution.

“Our doctors have departed from this country; hospitals are over stretched and the high cost of medicines, Nigerians are dealing with all of these.

“We cannot continue in this direction and expect any tangible change,” he said.

Mr Ramon Oluwatosin, a 68-year-old who retired from the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA), aligned with the views of Chukwuemeka, saying that the country had not done well in the health sector, after 65 years of breaking free from colonial rule.

According to Oluwatosin, 65 years is a long time for any nation to have advanced, yet the country, as endowed and enlightened, is grappling with issues that were even better handled when the world wasn’t as advanced.

Oluwatosin urged the present administration to change the narrative by paying more attention to the health of all Nigerians, most especially the children and the aged.

“We have not done well in the health sector.

“I was three years old when we got independence; I have grown, worked and retired, yet, we are still “dancing backwards’. There is no excuse enough to explain this.

“However, there is room for improvement and I want to charge this current government to do more and improve the treatment outcomes for Nigerians,” he said.

In a similar plea, an octogenarian, Mrs Doreen Akinlade, urged the government to support practitioners of alternative medicines in the country.

Akinlade noted that many Nigerians still depended on traditional medicines hence the need for government to give more attention to alternative medicines and regulate the activities of practitioners.

“I don’t visit the hospital regularly because I take more of herbal remedies and it has been helpful for my health.

“If our government can pay more attention to alternative medicine, it would go a long way to address some of the health need of Nigerians,” she said.

Dr Francis Dike, 86, highlighted that while Nigeria’s post-independence health system started with a focus on public health expansion in the 1960s, the subsequent decades have been marked by inconsistent political commitment and chronic underfunding.

Dike had worked as a medical practitioner in Enugu under former Eastern Nigeria Government.

According to him, at present, the health system faces immense challenges with “dilapidated infrastructure, massive medical brain drain, and poor access to affordable care.

“The relative gains of the early years have largely been eroded by economic strain and persistent governance issues,” he said.

NAN reports that pre- colonial Nigeria’s system of healthcare delivery was traditional medicine.

This traditional healing and medical practices included herbalists, divine healers, soothsayers, traditional midwives / birth attendants, spiritualists, bone-setters, traditional therapists among others.

The first record of a form of modern medical services in Nigeria was during the various European expeditions in the early-to mid-nineteenth century.

According to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, the first allopathic doctors to come to Nigeria were Portuguese in 1472.

The Roman Catholic Mission opened a hospital at St. Thomas Island off the Bight of Benin in 1504.

The trans-Atlantic slave traders also came with ship doctors and surgeons who attended to the healthcare needs of slavers and slaves.

The Roman Catholic Mission established The Sacred Heart Hospital Abeokuta in 1865 whilst St. Margaret’s Hospital Calabar came into being in 1898.

Before the establishment of these hospitals, a Medical Examining Board in 1789 recorded doctors’ names, mainly Dutch names which were followed by Danish and British names on its register.

Doctors of the Dutch West Indies Company went to Benin and treated the local people.

Many of the explorers who came to Nigeria were medical men, with such names as Mungo Park, David Livingstone, Schnister and John Kirk.

The West African Medical Service originated from the Royal West African Frontier Force, (WAFF) and in 1902, the Medical Departments of the various British Colonies, i.e., Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia were established.

However, in spite of more than 150 years of introduction of Western style medicine to Nigeria, healthcare system has remained complex with traditional healing and medical practices still an integral part of it.

Nigeria’s post-independence health system, in spite its initial promise, has struggled.

These, stakeholders say, is largely characterised by inadequate public funding, dilapidated infrastructure, and a severe shortage of medical personnel.

This persistent decline, has continued to impact negatively, resulting in limited access to quality, affordable healthcare for most Nigerians. (NAN)