Quackery In The Healthcare System Must Stop- Otunba Kalejaiye Charge Health Practitioners
Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
The Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP) have been urged to sponsor a bill in the Federal House of representatives that will tackle the high rate of quackery being witnessed in the Health Care system in Nigeria.
The charge was made by Otunba Kunle Kalejaye SAN, today during the Opening ceremony of the 44th annual General Meeting/International Scientific Conference of the ANPMP in Ibadan the capital of Oyo state.
Kalejaye who was the chairman of the occasion stated that there is a need to have a constitutional backup in the fight against quackery in the health sector as many Nigerians are losing their lives and the lives of their loved ones on a daily account as a result of it.
Also, the President of ANPMP, Ambassador. Dr. Iyke Odo emphasized that the importance of the association in the Nigerian Healthcare Sector can not be underestimated as the association is the oldest medical association in Nigeria and since its establishment, has consistently supported the healthcare delivery system in the country as 7 out of every 10 Nigerians depend on the association for their healthcare needs.
“The average Nigerian out there, 9 in 10 has no health insurance yet and is willing to pay for his medical bills out of pocket and 7 in 10 are poor and cannot pay. The private doctor has no access to affordable loans or grants and is left to struggle with a daily crippling economy in which inflation has driven the cost of providing medical services beyond the roof”.
“Individual Nigerians and corporate organizations are either poor or are averse to paying medical bills. The private doctor bears the cost of those patients who cannot pay and they are not few and the cost is not pocket money. Corporate organizations treat medical bills with levity. It is the last bill that is paid when it should come first following the natural order of events, life before anything else”.
The president of the association however berated the mass exodus of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers from the country noting that the Medical brain drain is the current most disturbing challenge to the Health Care system in the country, thereby calling in political officer holders to take very urgent measures to halt this unchecked drift and save the healthcare system.
“The Nigerian healthcare system is today like a house on fire and the occupants are stampeding to escape. Our doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers are abandoning their jobs and leaving the country for greener pastures abroad. This is the current most disturbing challenge to the health system after the very high cost of providing services that is not mostly paid for.
“I call on our president, Major Gen. Mohammadu Buhari to take very urgent measures to halt this unchecked drift and save our healthcare system from total collapse. This is beyond political gimmickry. It calls for decisive action”.
