Almost half of Nigerians who travelled to India last year did so to receive medical attention.
According to data released by the Indian High Commission, 47 percent of Nigerians who travelled to India in 2012 were medical tourists.
Business Day reports that it has become a common trend for Nigerians to travel to India if they need medical treatment because of the poor access to and low standards of health care they experience at home.
According to the report, 18,000 Nigerian tourists were given visas in order to receive medical attention in India.
“Out of this number, we discovered that 18,000 of them travelled for medical treatment in different Indian public and private hospitals. What this goes to show is that many more Nigerians are today turning to India’s good quality and cost effective healthcare services.
“Nigeria and India have come a long way in their diplomatic relations. So, we will continue to welcome Nigerians to India’s affordable and good quality healthcare delivery system, especially now that there is an increasing demand by Nigerians to visit India for medical attention”, Makhijani told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Mike Chukwu, the CEO of Assetswise Capital, told Business Day that there are a number of things that need to be done to improve the quality of local health care.
“There is need to improve access to capital, develop and enforce quality standards, mobilise public and donor money to the private sector, modify local policies and regulations to foster the role of the private sector and foster Risk Pooling Programmes.”
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