According to Punch findings, Nigerians spent about $2.38 million on medical-related services abroad from January to June 2024.
This is according to a report by the Central Bank of Nigeria on the amount spent on health-related and social services using foreign currency by sector.
According to a breakdown in the report, $2.3 million was spent in January. February was 0.0 billion dollars. March was $0.01 million. April is $0.00 million. May was $0.05 million. In June, it was $0.02 million.
Our correspondent observed that the amount spent on overseas medical-related services in the first half of this year was more than $690,000 in the second half of 2023 from July to December.
The development increased spending by $1.69 million from January to June this year.
However, compared to the first half of 2023 figure of $3.13 million, there was a decrease of $0.75 million.
President Bola Tinubu said the move would reverse the trend in international medical tourism as he launched the Nigeria Government Investment Authority, a health expansion program in which 120,000 frontline health workers will be retrained. said.
Commenting on medical tourism expenditure, Tanimora Akande, Professor of Public Health at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State and former National President of the Nigerian Association of Public Health Physicians, said media reports reported an increase in medical tourism expenditure. . The CBN indicated that large amounts of foreign currency were still being spent to obtain medical care abroad.
Akande emphasized that: “Medical tourism is often perpetuated by elites. This shows that recent investments in high-end private medical facilities in Nigeria have not significantly reduced the cost of medical tourism in Nigeria.
“If the funds spent on medical tourism are channeled into improving local health facilities, it will go a long way in reducing medical tourism in Nigeria.
“Government should continue to promote investment in quality health services in Nigeria.Government should also continue to promote investment in quality health services in Nigeria. , more needs to be done.”
