First Lady, Aisha Buhari, recently decried the deplorable services offered at the State House Medical Centre (SHMC), Abuja. She made the observation at the opening of a two-day stakeholders’ meeting on “Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition” at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa. The president’s wife lamented the worsening state of the facility in spite of the N3.2 billion voted for it in the 2017 Budget. She also revealed that the X-ray machine in the clinic was not working, while simple drugs such as paracetamol and consumables like syringes and gloves were not available.
Although the clinic is supposed to offer free services to its intended beneficiaries, they are made to individually source those basic items. The Aso Rock Clinic provides medical services to the president, vice president and their families, aides, members of staff of the State House and other entitled public servants. It is also used as a training facility for house officers and other medical personnel.
We strongly condemn the poor condition of the medical centre and call for an urgent probe of its management. The authorities of the clinic must be made to account for the expenditure of N3.94 billion reportedly budgeted for the facility for 2015, N3.89 billion budgeted for last year and the N3.2 billion for this year. It is also important to find out how much of the money budgeted for the three years was actually released. The Deputy Director (Information) in the State House, Attah Esa, has said that only N1.195 billion was released for the centre out of the N3.406 billion appropriated for it in the 2015 and 2016 Budgets.
The facility, he said, had zero allocation for capital projects in the 2017 Budget, while only 91.3 million out of the 331.7 million appropriated for it for recurrent expenses in the year (only 27.54 per cent) was released.
An investigation should be conducted to determine how much was actually budgeted for the clinic and the amount that was released and spent. Already, the House of Representatives has vowed to probe the deplorable condition of the State House Clinic and its inability to deliver basic medical services to patients. The investigation should uncover how the management of the clinic utilised the money released for its operations since 2015. Its management should also be made to explain why it went ahead with new building projects while the hospital lacked critical drugs and equipment.
The explanation that the centre is to be upgraded and commercialised is not an acceptable excuse for the shortage of drugs and equipment. Those responsible for the deterioration of the clinic must be severely punished. Holders of public offices must exhibit high sense of accountability and probity at all times. It is sad that President Muhammadu Buhari has been going to the United Kingdom to access medical treatment. It is necessary to reverse the ugly trend of poor services at the facility.
The ugly picture of this important medical facility is embarrassing. The condition of the centre is, however, only a reflection of the state of many other government health facilities. There is the need to change our healthcare delivery narrative from that of lamentation to hope. The increasing medical tourism by our politicians and other affluent Nigerians to hospitals in Europe, America and Asia must be addressed by providing good and comprehensive health services in our public hospitals. Government should fully revamp the health sector.
We commend the First Lady for her boldness in exposing the disgraceful state of affairs at the Aso Rock clinic. No doubt, she voiced the concern of most Nigerians about the nation’s health sector. The relevant agencies of government must wake up and confront the challenges of our health sector frontally. The bad condition of Aso Rock Clinic is unacceptable. The Federal Government should prioritise the health sector and inject more money into it.
The practice of not releasing funds that are duly appropriated for critical public services such as health should be stopped. In the same vein, we enjoin the state and local governments to substantially increase and release budgetary allocations to the health sector in their respective domains.