Nigerians Spend $8b On Medical Tourism Annually -US Based Nigerian Expert

An America-based Nigerian cardiologist, Dr. Kamar Tayo Adeleke, has revealed that many influential Nigerians blow a whooping sum of eight billion dollars annually on medical tourism.  Adeleke made the revelation in Ibadan, yesterday, described as incredible the huge amount of foreign exchange being wasted on medical tourism by influential Nigerians, while lamenting that such funds should rather have been better deployed to the development of local health infrastructure and facilities.

Dr. Adeleke, leader of a 50-member Free Health Mission from the United States of America to Ibadan, announced that his team was only partnering with Oyo State Government with a view to develop infrastructure and facilities to boost the healthcare programme of the present administration in the state.

 Most of the common ailments being diagnosed and treated by the Free Health Mission, according to Dr. Adeleke, include diabetes, high blood pressure, infections, fever, pneumonia, hernia, fibroid, as well as varied degrees of eye problems.

 “Our mission is also to evaluate Oyo State Government’s health facilities to see what need to be done to further help them, and that is part of what we are doing.

"We are going to see how we can collaborate and upgrade the facilities by bringing more equipment. We will later bring more doctors including ophthalmologists, dentists and general surgeons here for consulting services,” he said.

 Dr. Adeleke, who is the Chief Cardiologist at St. Francis Hospital, Belaware in the U.S.A. disclosed that the Free Health Mission, which was facilitated, brought about 50 cartons of various medication, notably multi vitamins and anti biotics for free distribution to patients.

 While decrying the high rate at which influential Nigerians junket to different parts of the world on medical tourism, Dr. Adeleke said that what the government should have done was to create a conducive environment for the local health practitioners.