The problems and prospects of public health care development in Nigeria\'s local government system

Abstract

The abysmal failure of public health care system in Nigeria has attracted comments and criticisms from local and national levels. The provision of adequate health care services to the citizens, particularly those residing at the rural areas has left much to be desired. In spite of media propaganda and the current health sector reforms by the government, the public health care system in Nigeria is still inefficient in all ramifications. It is therefore argued that the problems facing the public health care system in Nigeria could be traced to poor implementation of National Health Policy as well as other health-related policies and programmes. Also, the implementation of National Health Policy and the current reforms in the health sector are therefore expected to address the perennial problems inflicting public health care development in Nigeria. The paper further argues that it is only when the government ensures that health is regarded as the right of all citizens of the country, irrespective of status that the public health care system is said to be developed in Nigeria. The paper adopts descriptive method and content analysis to arrive at the conclusion that poor implementation of health care policies and programmes is the major constraint to the achievement of desired goals in public health care provision in Nigeria, particularly at the local government level.
For better improvement, the paper suggests the need for political commitment as well as elimination of bureaucratic bottlenecks in public health care provision in Nigeria.


Global Journal of Social Sciences Vol. 6 (1) 2007: pp. 51-56