Nigeria's need for specialist hospitals

My cousin had a serious car accident last year with some serious spinal injuries. The doctors in Nigeria confirmed that he will spend the rest of his life in a wheel chair. When the accident happened instead of leaving him till the car till the emergency services arrived, he was dragged out of the car causing further damage.

However, my cousin was one of the very lucky ones who had the opportunity to be flown out of the country to India where he received medical attention. He should be able to move around normally in a few months time. Not everyone will be lucky to be flown out of the country for specialist treatment.

This is my proposal, the government should build 6 specialist hospitals dotted around the country. The government's involvement will be only to build the infrastructure and hand them over to a foundation with an international reputation. The hospitals will be funded by Nigerians, charitable organisations and foundations. An example of raising funds will be appealing to every Nigerian living overseas to give at least $10 per month, by doing this funding for these specialist hospitals can be obtained.

So how will the funds be collected and managed? Maybe we may need to engage the services of a reputable organisation like PriceWaterhouseCoopers or a similar organisation, or maybe a foundation like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. By doing so we can ensure that the funds are solely for the purpose of healthcare only.

The potential for these specialist hospitals could be immense attracting the best practitioners from around the global, as well as making them centres of excellence. We definately need a neurological specialist hospital, other specialist hospitals could be in the area of oncology, cardiovascular, Ophthalmology, Pain and inflammation, Diabetes, Immunology and Paediatrics. This will be good example of Nigerians doing something to improve the quality of life for millions who cannot afford the luxury of overseas treament.