NMA proposes privatisation of government hospitals

Dr Uche Ojinmah, the National President, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has urged the Federal Government to consider privatising the nation's hospitals for them to perform optimally.

Ojinmah said on Sunday in Abuja that this had become necessary for both the teaching and public hospitals to guarantee the needed fund for their effective operation.

"As far back as 2014, we wrote a compendium on how to fix these teaching hospitals and public hospitals and there are two options if the government wants to fund it properly.

"Go for 15 per cent of the national budget for the health sector and also release the budgeted funds because budgeting is different from cash backing.

"So if they can fund it well and release the necessary cash to back it up then these institutions can come up to speed."

He said that with this, the government could demand accountability while the other option was privatisation.