Health

How To Fix Nigerian’s Ailing Health Sector – Dr Akpotive

Published

5 years ago

June 26, 2019

John Knowtes, a renowned American author once wrote that, “Everyone has a moment in history which belongs particularly to him; it is the moment when his emotions achieve their most powerful sway over him, as he makes the most definite impact on the society”.
For Dr Andy Akpotive, the authorship of his bestseller titled “Unveiled-How to run a Profitable Hospital Business in Nigeria”, is a dream come true and a rare feat that defines his passion towards promoting excellence in the Nigerian medical sector.
The young entrepreneur and advocate of principles in the practice of medicine who spoke with The Tide in an exclusive interview in Port Harcourt, recently, said the stunted growth of the Nigerian medical sector was mostly as a result of lack of proper diagnosis of the structural deficiencies and operations of the sector. For this reason he said, most Nigerian doctors and medical practitioners have opted to seek professional solace elsewhere, while Nigerians now earn a negative reputation of seeking medical attention beyond the shores of the country.
According to Dr Akportive, the unbridled drive towards medical tourism outside Nigeria, without addressing the prevalent challenges in the country’s health sector, was a disturbing phenomenon that required urgent attention.
Akportive who is also a public Affairs analyst and social reformer, identified the deficiencies of insight in leadership as being grossly responsible for institutional failure in Nigeria, and called on the government to invest meaningfully in the health sector.
“The leadership of this country is yet to fathom the reality and responsibilities of governance. It is regrettable that Nigerian doctors perform exceedingly well abroad, but at home they lack the incentives to discharge their professional duties optimally. There is need for proper diagnosis of the challenges in the health sector, and other sectors of the economy, the economic expansion needed for stable employment and promotion of excellence in service delivery can only be attained, when our institutions are functional”.
Asked what motivated him to write the book, Akpotive said: “My passion for the health sector has led me to write a robust piece that will speak to the Nigerian peculiarities, while catering to the challenging questions and realities of health care administrators, medical and allied medical students, workers and investors, helping them to achieve efficiency of training and care for the patients”.
The seasoned health care administrator, who described the book as a compendium of practical ideas, explained that the work provides solutions for effective strategies in management and operations in health care services, especially in leadership, machinery, merchandise and general information.
As such, he said this work serves as in antidote to the erroneous assumption in third world countries, that success in business was a violation of moral principles, noting that the desired free enterprise system can only strive on robust businesses acumen.
Like the great philosopher Alfred Whitehead, Dr Akpotive believes that “Style is the ultimate morality of the mind”, implying that there must be constant redifinition of goals in every sector to put the country on a strong pedestal of economic growth.
With no self serving intentions of touting his laurels or achievements, Dr Akpotive said the efforts he devoted in writing the book was worth it, as he was convinced that the work, if put into judicious use, will help in checking the foul-ups and culpable failures that have stunted the development of the Nigeria medical sector.
On how the book relate to the very personality of the author, Dr Akpotive said, “I am a man with a knack for excellence and deep commitment in all my engagements, the work is a product of deep research and offshoot of over 14 years experience in administering small, medium and large scale hospitals in Nigeria, helping them to attain set milestones and targets. The work contains over 209 ways to defect fraud in hospitals and there controls, exceptional customer service in hospitals, kinds of patients in the hospital and how to deal with them”.
Akpotive also added that the lucidity of the work was beyond its aesthetic cover, but a factual presentation of creative ideas delivered in adroit professional prowess and rendition for easy digestion. Speaking on the relationship between the academic institutions and medical practice, he called for a stronger synergy to enhance research and effective service delivery.
“One of the major challenges in the Nigerian health sector is the lack of research development. There should be stronger synergy between the academic and the industry, “we have professors who are not committed to research, such docility on the part of scholars is inimical to research development, medical practice is dynamic and cannot thrive on old inefficiencies. Both medical scholars and practitioners should be encouraged to engage in research to promote excellence”.
The author was also deeply concerned about the decline in reading culture in the society. According to him the absence of a virile reading culture was the sign of a degenerating society. To get Nigerians reading again, he canvassed for a total re-ordering of the Nigerian educational system, where the leaders will embrace the culture of reading and knowledge acquisition to function effectively in the art of governance. He also admonished parents to embrace the reading culture and communicate knowledge to their children.
“The absence of an effective reading culture and dearth of intellectualism is also at the root of Nigeria’s development crisis. Nigerians are overwhelmed by their physiological needs and do not have time to read or seek knowledge. We also have a leadership’s structure that detests knowledge; these are ominous signs for our development as a nation. Any society that does not promote knowledge gropes in the dark and becomes the butt of sadistic jokes of other promising societies”.
He further averred that, commitment to a knowledge driven economy in Nigeria will help in liberating the people from the shackles of ignorance and the glorification of mediocrity. The activist also called for the review of the school curriculum to promoting the reading culture and advocated for the encouragement of authors to enhance the frontiers of knowledge.
It is regrettable that in Nigeria, authors and readers are not given any accolades or incentives to promote their works. Rather beauty pageantry and Big brother shows are promoted at the expense of scholarly works, through bogus and mouthwatering incentives”.
“The government and other related institutions should organise quiz competitions and encourage readers and authors through incentives”, Dr Akpotive, also took a swipe at the federal government over its tendency to gauge popular opinion as demonstrated recently in the African Independent Television (AIT), Federal Government debacle. He pointed out that it was totally wrong for government to gauge press freedom or douse plurality of opinions in a democracy.
He said the deliberate effort of a government to stop dissenting voices, in democracy without seeking constitutional measures to address contentious issues was the shortest route to despotism. He added that the beauty of a democracy was for critical stakeholders to appraise the government to enhance checks and balances in the art of governance.
“Any government that only basks in praises and commendations, and views criticism with a sense of disdain is not worthy of its name. There must be room for checks and balances to curtail the excesses of the wielders of power. It is not only fundamental but a moral right for people to air their critical views, but there is also limit to freedom of speech which is enshrined in the constitution and should be treated within the ambit of the law”.
Akpotive also sent a strong message to the youthful generation on how to pick up the gauntlet and play active roles in the leadership of the country. According to him, the only way for the youth to have a strong footing in leadership was to embrace education and liberate themselves from the allure of political slavery.
“The youth constitute the active population in Nigeria, but their role in leadership is passive, they operate at the beck and call of their political slave drivers who are not ready to relinquish power voluntarily to them, but always want the youth to be engage in unsavoury duties.
Dr Akpotive also has deep admiration for the leadership style of the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, especially in his passion to develop Rivers State.
In a widely publicized broadcast message at his instance recently, he appealed to all power brokers in the state to yield to the dictates of nature and support the governor to continue to dispense quality leadership in the state. He holds a strong opinion that governance is a fundamental obligation that goes beyond mere partisan considerations, and should be accorded the deepest sense of regards.

Taneh Beemene

Health

WHO Plans Global Eye Care Target

Published

1 day ago

May 15, 2024

The Tide

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commenced a new initiative, SPECS 2030, to assist countries in achieving the global eye care target of a 40% increase in the proportion of people with access to appropriate spectacles.
The launch will be held during a two-day meeting in Geneva, Switzerland with over 100 participants including Member States representatives, UN agencies, academia and nongovernmental organisations.
“The SPECS 2030 initiative marks a significant milestone in combatting uncorrected refractive error, commonly known as short-sightedness or long-sightedness, which is the leading cause of vision impairment in both children and adults,” said Dr Bente Mikkelsen, WHO Director for Noncommunicable Diseases, Rehabilitation and Disability.
“Globally, it is estimated that only around one third of people with vision impairment due to refractive error have access to a pair of spectacles that allows them to see well,” Mikkelsen added.
The SPECS 2030 initiative calls for coordinated action across five key areas of improved access to refractive services build capacity of personnel to provide refractive services, improve population education,reduce the cost of refractive error services, strengthen surveillance and research.
The initiative will focus on four key strategies of engagement to support countries and stakeholders.
Global SPECS Network provides a platform for relevant organisations to promote collective and coordinated advocacy and action, share experiences, and expand their professional network.
Private sector dialogues will be convened with relevant private sector actors, including the optical, pharmaceutical and technology industries, private sector service providers and insurance companies.

Engagement of regions and countries, including a range of activities, will accelerate progress and bridge the gap between global eye care commitments and country implementation, such as WHO-led policy dialogues with governments, country-level workshops, or capacity building and awareness raising activities.

“We are committed to strengthen engagement with all key stakeholders and unite towards coordinated action and advocacy,” said Dr Mikkelsen. “To achieve this, the WHO Global SPECS Network has been established and the inaugural 32 member organizations are participating in the meeting.”

Kevin Nengia

Health

RSG Harps On Family Planning As SFH Unveils Injectables For Women

Published

1 day ago

May 15, 2024

The Tide

The Society for Family Planning Health(SFH) has unveiled a self injection family planning scheme in conjunction with the State Primary Health Board.
Described as the Disc(Delivery Innovation in Self Care) programme, it offers women with the ability to control their reproductive choice by practicing self injection method to forestall unwanted pregnancy for at least three months.
The new method is painless compared with the old method ad women can inject themselves.
To help propagate the the innovation, the Rivers State Government has emphasised the need for families to embrace the family planning scheme to minimise the number of children they carter for, stressing that an effective family planning strengthens the economy and promote good healthy living in the family.
The Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Management Board ,Dr Kinikanwo Green, stated that (DISC ) will help women and improve family planning across board.
Kinikanwo who represented the state government at the event, commended the SFH for training and retraining of staff of the state Ministry of Health and the Health Management Board on the new innovations in the family planning method , adding that the importance of family planning in the society can not be over emphasised.
He averred that the state government as a critical stakeholder will ensure that the family planning consumables are made free of charge in the 344 public healthcare centres across the 23 Local Government Areas of the State.
According to him,the Disc programme showcased the new innovations that are applicable and offered women to control their reproductive choice by practicing self injection method to forestall unwanted pregnancy for three months.
“So if you inject yourself after three months it keeps pregnancy away thus, a good family planning method.
“Family planning help you to size your family according to your pocket, especially during this harsh economic situation.
“It help you in terms of the health of the child, and of course, the society at large.
“Family planning is a good intervention as it help to promote good health to children and also enhance the health of the mother and .
“We will ensure that these consumables are taken to the various Local Government Areas of the state,”he stated.
The State Executive Secretary of Primary Health Care Management Board opined that the state government will continue to engage the Society for Family Health in the state , stressing that within the 21 months of the programme implementation in the state ,they have been able to raise the awareness index of the state from 1.2 to 1.20 percent.
Also speaking,the Deputy team lead ,Disc project society for Family Health ,
Mopelola Raji said that they have been in the State for the past 21 months to showcased what they have learned.

Raji said that Self injection was designed to designed particularly for women to make them feel empowered and to boost their efficiency in the society.

“ The self injection was showcased to give women voice for them to have control over their sexual reproductive health choice.

“ When we enter Rivers State in 2022 the self injection were at 2.0 percent but as at data the state is around 59 percent” she stated.

Akujobi Amadi

Health

How Dates Boost Fertility

Published

1 day ago

May 15, 2024

The Tide

Researchers in a study have suggested that date palm is an arsenal to fight infertility in couples. They found that one-month consumption of date palm has a positive impact on the sexual function of infertile couples.
The study to investigate the effect of date palms on the sexual function of infertile couples was in the 2022 edition of the BMC Research Notes.
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted on infertile women and their husbands who were referred to infertility clinics in Iran in 2019, researchers found sexual function in females (arousal, orgasm, lubrication, pain during intercourse, satisfaction) in the intervention group was significantly increased compared to females in the control group that had no date palm.
Infertility and infertility management affects different dimensions of a couple’s life. Sexual dysfunctions can appear in both partners and might provoke problems in every stage of sexual response. Infertility negatively affects the sexuality of infertile couples.
Numerous studies show that infertile women have lower sexual function than fertile women. Sexual satisfaction is strongly affected by the consequences of infertility such as reduced self-esteem, feelings of depression and anxiety, and failed sexual relationships.
The intervention group was given a palm date capsule and the control group was given a placebo. The starch powder was applied to prepare the placebo capsules.
Also, all areas of male sexual function (erectile function, orgasmic function, sexual desire, intercourse satisfaction and overall satisfaction) significantly increased in the intervention group compared to the control group.
Infertility is not only a medical problem but also affects all personal dimensions and social life of most infertile individuals. Infertile couples are more prone to psychological problems (anxiety, depression, and stress), which may result in marital distress, social dysfunction (stigma, social exclusion, and feelings of failure), and reduced quality of life.
Infertility and infertility management affects different dimensions of a couple’s life. Sexual dysfunctions can appear in both partners and might provoke problems in every stage of sexual response. Infertility negatively affects the sexuality of infertile couples.
Numerous studies show that infertile women have lower sexual function than fertile women. Sexual satisfaction is strongly affected by the consequences of infertility such as reduced self-esteem, feelings of depression and anxiety, and failed sexual relationships.
Dates palm is known to have come from what is now Iraq. In Nigeria, dry and soft date fruits are sold out for consumption. However, in the northern part, they are added to the locally brewed alcoholic beverage to help reduce the intoxicating power.
Dates are a good source of energy and vitamins and important elements such as phosphorus, iron, potassium and a significant amount of calcium. It is also rich in phenolic compounds possessing free radical scavenging and antioxidant activity.
Since ancient times, the date palm has been used in Greece, China and Egypt to treat infertility and increase sexual desire and fertility in females. There are few studies on the effect of date palms on male and female sexual function in human beings.
Besides, studies have shown that the various parts of its plant are widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various disorders which include memory disturbances, fever, inflammation, paralysis, loss of consciousness and nervous disorders.
The researchers suggested that the improvement in male and female sexual function can be due to active ingredients and increased levels of sex hormones following the consumption of date palms since studies indicated that increasing sex hormones are effective in sexual function.
They, however, recommended more studies with a longer duration on the use of date palms on sex hormone levels in infertile couples.
Previously, a study revealed that using date palms in postmenopausal women for 1 month had a positive and significant impact on sexual desire and arousal. Another suggested that using date palms had a positive impact on orgasm, satisfaction and lubrication in women and also reduced pain during intercourse in women.
In the laboratory, administering date palms to male rats and measuring their sexual behaviours, researchers showed that sexual behaviour parameters (number of ejaculations, number of intercourse) increased compared to the control group.