Donor Driven Health Systems: Reflections on the Implications for Healthcare Delivery in Nigeria

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Authors : Oyibo Patrick Gold, Ejughemre

Abstract:

Efforts geared towards strengthening health systems and improving health outcomes necessitated the co-operation between developed and developing countries for long term international developmental assistance for the latter. These efforts climaxed with the signing of the United Nations millennium development goals which created a platform for the ‘injection’ of billions of dollars of donor funds, technical assistance, inter alia, into countries with great need. Accordingly, there are reflections of marked achievements towards achieving the envisaged objective(s) in recipient countries such as Nigeria. In fact, the impact of donor support for health system strengthening in Nigeria has being remarkable with funding to combat major health problems reaching unprecedented levels in recent times with improvements on certain fronts. Of such include, decrease in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and the eradication of guinea worm, as well as capacity development and health facility infrastructural upgrades. Nevertheless, these obvious gains have not being without issues of concern hitherto. Cardinal amongst these is that not all the developmental support is reaching communities with the greatest of needs or being delivered in a manner that is proving effective. More so, are the issues of corruption, abdication of co-operate social responsibilities by the government in certain instances to donor partners, as well as the rising ‘ineptitude’ in many of the recipient communities that has fast created a climate were self-reliance is being ebbed into a place called the past. The argument therefore is that the merits and demerits of donor support for health system strengthening in Nigeria has created debates, needing further reflections thereof.

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