…And Hospitals Break The Law Daily
By Saidu Abubakar
Have Nigerians known this at all? Or ignorance is leading them to live losses? Since 2014, there has been a powerful law in Nigeria that gives every citizen the right to FREE emergency healthcare and basic medical services. This law, signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan in October 2014 is called: THE NATIONAL HEALTH ACT (NHA), 2014.
And yet, 11 years after, millions of Nigerians still don’t know it exists. Hospitals disregard the law and the funds meant for it end up in private pockets. The Federal Ministry of Health should be forensiclly checkmated on this!
HERE’S WHAT THIS LAW GUARANTEES YOU (AND THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW): Under SECTION 20, SECTION 27, and SECTION 29 of the National Health Act:
- No hospital in Nigeria has the right to reject you during an emergency whether you have money or not!
This means:
— Accident victims
— Pregnant women in labour
— Gunshot victims
— Stroke victims
— Heart attack and asthma patients
— Children in critical condition
MUST be treated immediately whether they have money or not!
It is ILLEGAL for hospitals to demand money before saving a life.
This includes:
— Government hospitals
— Private hospitals
— Clinics
— Mission hospitals
— Specialist centres
— Teaching hospitals
— CHEWs and PHCs
ALL HEALTH FACILITIES are bound by this law.
Yes, private hospitals are also obligated to stabilize emergency patients before talking about money!
This is not advice. This is not a plea.
This is federal law!
- The Law Also Guarantees Free Essential Healthcare Nationwide
The Act mandates that every Nigerian is entitled to a Basic Minimum Package of Health Services (BMHS), which includes:
— Free immunization
— Free antenatal care
— Free childbirth services
— Free family planning services
— Free treatment for common illnesses at PHCs
— Free care for children under 5
— Free emergency stabilization
These are not promises.
These are legal entitlements you can hold the government and hospitals accountable for.
- The Government Must Finance This With a Dedicated Health Fund
The National Health Act created the:
Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF)
To be funded with:
*At least 1% of Nigeria’s entire Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) EVERY YEAR.
Meaning:
Even if the government doesn’t feel like it!
Even if budgets are tight!
Even if politicians claim “no money”!
The law forces the government to fund:
— Primary health centers
— Drugs and medical supplies
— Health insurance for the poor
— Emergency medical systems
— Maternal and child healthcare
This money is supposed to reach all 774 LGAs.
SO WHY ARE PEOPLE STILL DYING IN FRONT OF HOSPITALS?
Because:
— Hospitals ignore the law.
— The government refuses to enforce it.
— Nigerians don’t know their rights.
— Corruption drains the BHCPF.
— Emergency care is monetized.
— PHCs are abandoned.
— Private hospitals act with impunity.
*Patients are turned away for N20,000 Naira.
Women die during childbirth because nurses demand “folder fee.”
*Accident victims bleed to death on floors.
Gunshot victims are rejected without police report, even though THAT is also illegal.
Nigeria do not lack good laws. Our problem is a lack of enforcement and a lack of awareness.
MOST NIGERIANS DO NOT KNOW THEY HAVE THESE RIGHTS. That’s why hospitals get away with murder, literally.
*Nigerians can die today in front of a hospital gate because that hospital refused to treat them without payment.
Even though the law says: “A health care provider SHALL NOT refuse a person emergency treatment for any reason whatsoever.” That “SHALL NOT” is not a suggestion. It is a legal COMMAND.
WE SHOULD ALL ASK: If the law exists, If the funding exists, and If the obligation exists….
Why are Nigerians still paying with their lives?
Why do private hospitals act like they are above the law?
Why do government hospitals break rules they are funded to obey?
Why does the Ministry of Health look away?
Why do we keep losing mothers in labour, accident victims, and innocent children?
Until Nigerians start demanding their rights,
and until hospitals face consequences for rejecting emergencies, this nation will continue burying people who should still be alive.
