Patterns of Corruption in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Shika, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, corruption is the obstacle preventing the country from achieving its enormous potential.Corruption in the health sector is a concern in Nigeria where public resources are already scarce. Corruption in the health sector has made various health institutions to be ineffective while scarce resources invested in the sector are wasted. It weakens the social contract between the government and its people, and drains billions of dollars annually from the country’s economy. The deplorable condition of thehealth sector in Nigeria, in spite of government spending raises serious concerns. Theseconcerns include mismanagement, embezzlement, poor funding, shortage of drugs and medicalequipment in public hospitals etc. This paper therefore examines how corruption has impeded on theservice delivery in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) Shika, Zaria. The main objective of this study is toinvestigate the effect of corruption on service delivery and how it affects patients in the study area. Data were collected from the targeted populations through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The findings revealed that there is diversion of drugs, injections and other materials for personal use and sales, also money meant for fuel and diesel diverted to personal pocket. It is recommended that any health workers caught in one corrupt act or the other should be dealt with severely to serve as deterrent to others and also Federal Ministry of Health should procure and distribute drugs and other medical materials needed in the hospital and the public must be aware of the drugs that are free.