Driving Equitable Access to Healthcare for NCD Sufferers in Nigeria through a Legal Informatics Approach

Wilson Nwankwo ,Akinola Samson Olayinka ,Olufunke Aje-Famuyide

doi:10.33642/ijbass.v5n2p8

Abstract

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) accounts for 70% of the deaths resulting from health challenges annually across the globe. This paper discusses the provisions of local legislations and policies in Nigeria with particular emphasis on the financing available to persons with NCDs. Of particular concern are those legislations and policies that seem to protect persons with such diseases as to their fundamental right to dignity and health. This paper adopts a mix of qualitative and sociotechnical approaches and explores the vital legal, policy, and government project implementation documents in a bid to identifying the barriers to implementation of policies, highlight the costs of social exclusion of the rights of sufferers in human and economic terms. Following a careful analysis a legal informatics single window model of care is constructed to demonstrate how NCD sufferers may be taken care of with recourse to the subsisting laws and how any breach of the rights of the sufferers could be tracked and remedied. It is believed that such approach would ameliorate the health financing burdens of present and future NCD sufferers among the citizenry.

Highlights

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) accounts for 70% of the deaths resulting from health challenges annually across the globe[1]
Other covenants which affirm the right to health include the Alma Ata adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care in 1978; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination[29]; International Labour Organization No 16930 concerning indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries; the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination; the European Social Charter[31]; the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union[32]; the American Convention on Human Rights33;the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man; the American Convention on Human Rights[34]; the Protocol of San Salvador[35], etc
Nigeria has a plethora of health policies and legislations the chief of which is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999[as amended] and the National Health Act (NHA) 2015

Summary

Introduction

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) accounts for 70% of the deaths resulting from health challenges annually across the globe[1]. Non-communicable diseases often called chronic diseases are diseases of long duration[2] and generally slow progression. Common prevalent non-communicable diseases are Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs), Cancer, Chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma), and Diabetes. Some NCDs like CVDs and Cancer are life threatening while others, like sickle-cell anemia, diabetes may be managed through careful and consistent use relevant therapeutics. Suffice it to say that most NCDs are characterized by long duration, severity and slow progressive debilitations, involving personal hardships and heaviest financial cost for medical care. The duration is long in manifest in highly variable and daily symptoms[4]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion