Health Manpower and Population Change in Nigeria

Abstract

HEALTH SERVICES in Nigeria were initially pro vided by traditional doctors followed by phys icians brought by Portuguese traders to care for the health of their staff. The effort to provide modern medical care for the Nigerian population was initiated by the missionaries who established hospitals by the 1850s. Government institutions which started later in the 19th Century with a unified system of health services expanded very slowly until 1952 when the system was first decentral ised. Even after decentralisation the limited economy did not permit rapid expansion until the 1970s when the economy was greatly improved by the marketing of Nigerian petroleum permitting rapid development of health manpower and establishments. The numbers of the various categories of health personnel in recent years appear to be increasing at a rate higher than that of the population growth resulting in continued higher health manpower versus population ratio but there is still the need for improvement. The present level of health manpower in Nigeria is lower than those of the majority of the developing countries possibly due to the large popula tion of Nigeria and the initial lag in development. There is need for training greater numbers considering the size (about 96 million) of the Nigerian population and the target of providing health for all by the Year 2000. Other factors which need improvement include the uneven distribution of health manpower and the establishments between the urban and rural areas, transportation problems and the distance from the health facilities, cost of medication, and the adherence of a large percentage of the population to traditional beliefs and practices.