FG needs national data on epidemics to prepare for emergencies —Don

RENOWNED Professor of Medical Sociology, Ayodele Samuel Jegede, has called on the Federal Government to establish a National Disease Observatory System (NDOS) to document data on disease distribution across regions in Nigeria.

He noted that if Nigeria has data on diseases across the country by type, location and local practices, it will assist in clinical practice and preparedness for epidemics and treatment of diseases of emergencies such as hemorrhagic Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

According to Professor Jegede, such effort will be useful in training health workers so as to equip them properly for the task of community-based service delivery.

Professor Jegede, who doubles as the Dean Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan, stated this while delivering the 419th Inaugural Lecture of the University of Ibadan at the Trenchard Hall recently.

Speaking on the topic ‘The Forest through the Trees: Themes in Social Production of Health’, Professor Jegede lamented that Nigerian hospitals, which were described as ‘mere consulting clinics’, have deteriorated further, leaving Nigerians with no clinics to consult due to lack of political will and poor funding of health care system.

While saying universal health coverage is vital to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the medical sociologist maintained that Nigerians now rely and patronise alternative healthcare delivery system while attributing the causes of their illness to the spiritual.

He called on the Federal Government to improve primary healthcare service delivery in Nigeria, saying that the bane of developing nations’ health systems is primary healthcare.

Jegede, who attributed the failure of primary health care system in Nigeria to corrupt practices, asked that the current anti-corruption crusade be extended to the health sector to save Nigerians.

“Corruption should be wiped out of our society. Corrupt practices unarguably remain one of the major reasons adduced for the failure of the primary healthcare system in Nigeria. This is becoming burdensome for the masses.

“The current government’s anti-corruption crusade should be sustained and implemented in an atmosphere of transparency and fairness,” he said.