The report also calls for the “Comprehensive review and reform of the operation of the NHIS in practice to remove the risks of corruption and to allow it to achieve its intended purposes.”
The report also “calls on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to thoroughly and transparently investigate the $29 million Vaccine Grants Scam; N1.9 billion Special Intervention Fund Ebola Fund Scandal; and Nigeria Pharmaceutical Institute Ghost Workers and Illegal Recruitment Scam, prosecute suspected perpetrators of corruption and recover stolen public funds.”
“SERAP is also calling for foreign governments and donor agencies to insist on transparency and accountability and prosecution of suspected perpetrators of corruption and recovery of stolen public funds as conditions for providing aids and support to the ministry of health.
“They should also insist upon the timely publication and wide dissemination of budgets, expenditure reports, and audits when providing aid and other forms of cooperation to the ministry.”
According to the report, “Pregnant women who are poor are disproportionately affected during both prenatal and postnatal periods.
“Large scale official corruption in the health sector exacerbates inequality in already unequal and unfair political, social, and economic environments, and it produces a ‘cash and carry’ health care system based on one’s ability to pay for care.”
The report reads in part: “The country is bedeviled with proliferation of private hospitals without any successful attempt to close down illegal and substandard ones.
“Most of those that were closed down by the government later re-opened while some resumed operations underground.
“This continuously exposes the Nigerian population to great danger and no concrete hope of quality healthcare is in sight.”
“Nigerians were elated with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which posed as an initiative to alleviate the burden of user fees (i.e. out-of-pocket payment for health) through the prepayment schemes.
“The corrupt practices on-going with the scheme however, has restricted current beneficiaries to only workers in the private sector and a little fraction of public servants.”
“The recent allegations of malpractices and fraud against the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), is one in many of foreign aids that got walloped by corruption.”
“In October 2014, GAVI audit report of $29 million USD in funding given to Nigeria between 2011-2013 found that the Ministry of Health (FMH) and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) were guilty of extreme procurement malpractices and financial fraud.”
According to the report, “Only an approximated 40 per cent of the total expenditure of N4.5bn (US$29m) in the period 2011-2013 was spent on procurement with the main categories being; printing N919m (US $5.8m); incinerators N184m (US $1.2m); drugs N243m (US $1.6m); rehabilitation and equipping of medical facilities N437m (US $2.8m); other procurement N90m (US $397k), motor vehicles N17.8 (US 113k).”
“The Vaccine Alliance’s allegations forced the Federal Government to agree to repay funds deemed to have been misused, quantified as US$ 2.2 million.
“Even though the Federal Government agreed to pay, there was no attempt by the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration to probe or institute any committee to investigate the matter and bring to justice suspected perpetrators, thereby exacerbating impunity for corruption and adding to the bad image of Nigeria at the international level.”
“The main corruption allegations associated with the Ebola fund have been gross diversion of funds for other purposes outside the intended.
“The Ebola fund became the reason behind recent arrest of top officials of the Ministry of Health (FMH).
“It was reported that the arrest was in relation to a 15-page document obtained by the police, which showed that top officials of the Ministry of Health (FMH) and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) were involved in the mismanagement of the N1.9 billion funds.”
“Also the scandal continued as with the diversion of N63.6 million meant for pre-departure training of Nigerian volunteers who left the country on December 5, 2014, for Liberia and Sierra Leone to assist in the fight against Ebola.
“It was revealed that the said amount withdrawn by the Ministry’s official was actually bankrolled by the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa who paid for all the expenses relating to this activity.
“Further allegations arose of a whooping sum of N14.4 million was allegedly spent to organise a meeting for just 15 people!”
“Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) goals 4 (reducing child mortality), 5 (Improving maternal health), and 6 (Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases) of the MDGs are particular to the health sector.
“So various funding towards MDGs 4, 5 and 6 were directly and indirectly channeled through the Ministry of Health, its departments and agencies.”
“The investigation beamed a searchlight on a particular case of fraud involving the procurement of benzyl benzoate for the treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS.
“According to the investigation, “the Ministry claimed a total cost of N5.4 billion for all procurement of Benzyl Benzoate used in treating scabies and other skin ailments.
“It was however found that the Ministry quoted an extremely outrageous amount that was 59,400 per cent higher than the amount same was sold in the retail market.
“The investigation recounted an instance where the Ministry claimed it paid N64.7 million to buy 544 cartons and further revealed that the same amount could only have cost a maximum N2.6 million.”
Adetokunbo Mumuni
SERAP executive director
