Chronic Illness and Nigerians
One day you are at an Owambe (society party) being called to the high table as the chairman of the occasion, everybody is in awe of you; the usher comes to you to help carry your purse, everybody is clapping, admirers all around.
The next day you are all alone in a hospital ward, one or two friends call to see how you are doing, family members who initially rushed to be by your side have greatly diminished in number. Your Secondary school friends decide to start a gofundme account on your behalf and your story is published on Linda Ikeji’s blog: “Popular socialite needs 20million Naira to travel to India for surgery”.
Twenty million Naira? You don’t have twenty million Naira? And why India? You can’t afford to go to the United States or Germany?
I have met a popular TV presenter and actor struggling like a mere mortal in the hospital and no, I didn’t see popular celebrities trooping to the hospital to see him. I didn’t even see one. Maybe they came in at the time I was off duty.
Luckily for a lot of Nigerians the only Health challenge they have is the popular “typhoid and malaria” (which a lot of times isn’t actually what is wrong), however, when more serious health challenges come, they are overwhelmed. The following are some chronic diseases that can leave a Nigerian penniless:
Chronic kidney disease
You really don’t want to have this as a Nigerian. One of the cornerstones of Chronic Kidney Disease management is regular dialysis sessions.
When the kidneys are unable to filter harmful wastes from the blood, this needs to be done artificially unless there is a risk of death.
To solve this, the person needs regular dialysis till he or she can have a kidney transplant. A session of dialysis costs between N35,000 to N45,000; it is not uncommon for one to have 2 sessions of dialysis per week, this is apart from the pre and post blood tests that need to be done.
You want to have a transplant? Do you have a donor? it doesn’t come cheap (millions). Let’s say you have to travel to India for it, do you have the money (8 million Naira and above) for the procedure? Don’t forget you have to pay for visa, flight for you and a family member, accommodation, feeding, follow up tests etc. Now you get the picture
Cancer
This is another big one. Cancer should not be a death sentence, especially not in the early stages where there is still hope for intervention. However, you find that this is the case in #Nigeria because of costs. Depending on the type of cancer, there are 3 major interventions possible, first is surgery, next is chemotherapy, this involves the use of cancer cell killing drugs. Did you know that a drug for chemotherapy can cost up to N200,000 for one dose? The third is radiotherapy, only a couple of centres have functioning radiotherapy machines in Nigeria.
Stroke
How can stroke lead to poverty? Imagine a family breadwinner on minimum wage who suffers a paralysis and can’t work again. Occupational rehabilitative services are virtually non existent in Nigeria. The person more than likely will keep paying out of pocket for his care till he becomes penniless.
Guess what? More than likely he will lose his job.
Some drugs
There are some drugs that can make you bankrupt. These drugs need to be replenished on a monthly basis. An example includes drugs used to treat rheumatologic conditions which run into hundreds of thousands. Another is a drug used for treating blood clots (Rivaroxaban) which costs over N50,000 for 28 tablets. There are also some conditions though cheap to manage but require lifelong management e.g hypertension and diabetes. A 30 day tablet pack for either condition can cost between N5000 -N10,000. There are people that have both conditions, and others that have a third condition, high cholesterol in addition. So expect monthly expenses of up to N15,000 just for drugs – for life
What is the solution?
- A proper National Health Insurance policy like that practiced in the UK (NHS), not like the fraudulent NHIS we have here and the various scams perpetuated by some HMOS in the name of health insurance products.
- A focus on preventive health: We should develop the culture of healthy lifestyle, Proper diet, Exercises and habits (Stop smoking).
- Revive Primary Health care: People need access to good health care at the community level, this will help in nipping chronic diseases in the bud.
NB: The minimum wage in Nigeria is N18,000 ($49)
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