Nigerians spent approximately $2.38 million on foreign healthcare services between January and June 2024, according to findings by The Punch.
This data is based on a report from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), detailing foreign exchange allocations for health-related and social services under sectoral utilization.
A breakdown of the report shows that $2.3 million was spent in January, with minimal or no expenditure in the following months: $0.00 million in February, $0.01 million in March, $0.00 million in April, $0.05 million in May, and $0.02 million in June.
This spending in the first half of 2024 exceeds the $0.69 million spent on foreign healthcare from July to December 2023, reflecting an increase of $1.69 million. However, when compared to the first half of 2023, which recorded $3.13 million, there was a decline of $0.75 million.
The rise in medical tourism persists despite President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to curb it through the inauguration of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority’s healthcare expansion program.
The programme aims to retrain 120,000 frontline health workers, with the goal of reducing outbound medical tourism.
Professor Tanimola Akande, a public health expert from the University of Ilorin and former National Chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, who commented on the figures, noted that the continued increase in medical tourism expenditure reflects the enduring preference among elites for seeking healthcare abroad.
He remarked that recent investments in high-end private health facilities within Nigeria have not significantly reduced the cost of medical tourism.
Akande further emphasized that funds currently spent on medical tourism could be better utilized to enhance local healthcare facilities.
He urged the government to invest more in quality healthcare services, address the issue of brain drain, and create a conducive environment for high-standard healthcare to thrive in Nigeria.
Akande highlighted that “Medical tourism is often perpetuated by elites. This is an indication that recent investment in high-class private health facilities in Nigeria has not been able to remarkably reduce the cost of medical tourism in Nigeria.
“The money spent on medical tourism, if channelled to improving local health facilities, will go a long way to reduce medical tourism in Nigeria.
“The government should continue to promote investment in quality healthcare services in Nigeria. The government also needs to do a lot more to reduce the brain drain challenge and provide an enabling environment for high-class quality health care to flourish in Nigeria.”
