Corruption in health sector very deep – FG

The federal government says corruption in the health sector and Nigeria at large is a “very deep issue”, noting that efforts are ongoing to get rid of the menace. It said the way grants and other resources raised to cater for the needy such as children and women were being diverted was alarming, calling on […]

The federal government says corruption in the health sector and Nigeria at large is a “very deep issue”, noting that efforts are ongoing to get rid of the menace.

It said the way grants and other resources raised to cater for the needy such as children and women were being diverted was alarming, calling on the anti-graft agencies to step in.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, stated these in Abuja on Thursday when he spoke at a one-day conference organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, with the theme: “Corruption-free health care delivery for all”.

Pate’s disclosure was coming less than a week after a report by the National Bureau of Statistics ranked doctors, nurses and midwives as well as officers of the Nigeria Police Force, civil servants, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) as the most corrupt officials in Nigeria in 2023.

But Presidents of the Nigerian Medical Association and the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, faulted the report by saying doctors and nurses’ integrity remain intact, and that they don’t demand bribes before attending to patients.

However, speaking at the ICPC event, the minister stated that he recently dealt with a case where therapeutic food donated for children was diverted, and he had since handed over the matter to the police.

“So, when we look at the issue of corruption in Nigeria, which is very long-standing, it’s ubiquitous. I recently just dealt with another case where donated, ready-to-use therapeutic foods, were donated to feed acutely malnourished children, free of charge to where we have severe acute malnutrition.

“Somebody raised grants, raised resources, brought it to Abuja, deployed it to one of the state capitals, and they filtered away. “So, it (corruption) is a very deep issue.

“I have to write to the IG, and I would like to thank him also, specifically for deploying a very senior officer of the police force to be part of the task force. The challenge we face is a system and a paradigm that exists, that tolerates, encourages, demands, and accommodates corruption.

“In health, which is just one sector, sometimes it’s difficult to isolate corruption in health. So in health, what we are trying to do is to improve population health outcomes for all Nigerians. To save lives, to reduce pain, physical and financial pain, to produce health, and to do it for all Nigerians,” Pate said.

Earlier, the ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, expressed the commission’s readiness to check corruption and corrupt practices in the health sector, insisting that anybody found culpable would pay dearly for their acts.

“The conference is specifically organised to stimulate discussions that will help improve service delivery devoid of windows for corrupt tendencies in the Health Sector. This has become necessary considering the sector’s critical nature and its role in ensuring a healthy society at all levels.

“The Commission’s choice of Primary Health Care in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as the pilot for the nationwide conversation is to create a comprehensive template that can be replicated in all the six geopolitical zones of the federation,” the ICPC boss said.

The FCTA Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment, Adedolapo Fasawe, while delivering a keynote address, explained that corruption in the health sector was worse than a pandemic.

She said, “The opportunity cost of financial corruption in health is inestimable. What is the cost of a life? Therefore, in health, corruption must either be prevented or nipped in the bud in infancy.

“A cancerous like corruption is worse than a pandemic – procurement of substandard equipment, fake drugs, revenue leakages, and inflated health bills are some of the immediate results of corruption.”