Korede Abdullah in Lagos
The Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN) has highlighted several factors hindering effective and efficient healthcare delivery in Nigeria. These include lack of political will, a weak healthcare system, depleted human resources, poor infrastructure, insecurity, and an uncoordinated approach to healthcare.
According to APHPN President, Prof. Alphonsus Isara, “at this time that Nigeria is besieged with a double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases… all actors in the healthcare delivery system must revert to the grassroots to tackle these challenges.”
Prof. Isara emphasized the importance of effective Primary Health Care implementation, stating it is “a sine qua non to optimal healthcare delivery.”
He also advocated for the appointment of medical doctors with additional training in public health as Medical Officers of Health to lead health teams in local government areas. Currently, only about 40% of local government areas in Nigeria have medically qualified Medical Officers of Health, a situation Prof. Isara deemed “not acceptable.”
The APHPN is willing to collaborate with relevant government agencies and stakeholders to improve Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system.
As Prof. Isara noted, “APHPN is ever ready and willing to proffer implementable solutions to these challenges… to improve the healthcare delivery system of Nigeria.”
The association’s 41st Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference, themed “Primary Healthcare Delivery in the Face of Multidimensional Challenges,” aims to address these pressing issues.
