Nigeria’s advancements in gender equality, healthcare, and medical research are impeded by structural issues like brain drain, underfunding, and cultural impediments for women in power. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, highlighted solutions in a PSHAN podcast, emphasising women’s empowerment, public-private partnerships, and increased healthcare investments. She talked about her own professional achievements, including switching to medical microbiology in response to significant occurrences like the HIV pandemic and difficulties with patient care. Reflecting on navigating male-dominated sectors, Ogunsola urged women to value their leadership abilities, self-assurance, and worth.
Her contributions to WHO Ebola guidelines emphasised the importance of pandemic preparedness systems, collaborative efforts, and locally relevant research. Underfunding, bad working conditions, and Brain Drain are some of the problems facing the healthcare industry. improved pay, improved working conditions, and establishing chances for healthcare professionals to succeed both domestically and internationally are some solutions. She promoted equitable health finance, required health Insurance to increase access, and Private Sector involvement to improve public healthcare. Addressing fundamental problems like infrastructure, clean water, and Sanitation is essential to infection control, as is improving diagnostic capabilities and standardising care.
Healthcare industry has seen remarkable successes.
Improved health outcomes, particularly in infection prevention and control, depend on cooperation between the corporate sector, academic institutions, and medical facilities. Through Gender Equality programs and public-private partnerships (PPPs), Nigeria’s Healthcare Industry has seen remarkable successes, providing important lessons for stakeholders in the private sector, academia, and healthcare. A notable illustration is the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Cancer Centre, a cutting-edge establishment created via a public-private collaboration. Prior to its creation, many Nigerians needed to fly overseas for cutting-edge cancer treatment.
Another notable accomplishment is the Abiye (Safe Motherhood) Project in Ondo State, which the World Bank has identified as a workable model for accomplishing the MDGs’ Maternal Health objectives on the African continent. With the Abiye Initiative, the Ondo State Government decreased the Maternal Death rate from 745 per 100,000 live births in 2009 to 112 per 100,000 live births in 2016, a reduction of 84.9 percent. Collaborations between agencies such as the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have strengthened efforts to eliminate gender imbalance in Nigeria’s health sector.
Stakeholders should provide training courses for gender awareness.
Guidelines and policies that address important gender issues in the nation have been developed as a result of these partnerships. The Aisha Buhari Foundation’s “Future Assured” program also prioritises mother and child health by offering impoverished communities vital medical services, vaccinations, and prenatal care. Stakeholders may think about taking certain steps to improve healthcare delivery and gender equality even more. The government ought to increase financing for hospital Infrastructure and establish regulations that promote Investment from the private sector.
Gender-responsive health policies should be put into place and upheld to provide fair access to services. The private sector could use PPPs to invest in healthcare initiatives, concentrating on areas with urgent needs such specialised therapies and maternity health. Encourage projects that advance gender parity in the medical field. Research should be done by academic institutions to offer evidence-based answers that are specific to Nigeria’s healthcare issues. Provide training courses that highlight gender awareness and the value of providing healthcare in an equal manner.
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Many other nations share Nigeria’s healthcare issues, such as gender disparity, brain drain, and inadequate financing. India, for example, has experienced comparable problems but has made progress because to programs like the National Rural Health Mission, which increased access to healthcare in rural areas. Comparably, Rwanda has seen a considerable rise in healthcare coverage and a decrease in death rates as a result of its investment in community-based health insurance. Nigeria may continue to create plans that tackle its healthcare issues, advance gender equality, and enhance the health of its people by taking inspiration from both local achievements and global models.