Improving Nigeria’s Poor Health Indices: What Role for the Law?

Abstract

Health is a fundamental driver of economic growth and development and is believed, along with education, to be an important factor for human capital development and the basis of an individual’s economic productivity and poverty reduction. Because of this prime position occupied by health in the life of man, international governmental and non-governmental organizations periodically assess the performance of states in the area of health care provision for their citizens. Nigeria has consistently posted abysmally poor indices in these periodic evaluations. This paper seeks to find out whether and how the law can change this narrative and reverse the unenviable trend. Adopting the doctrinal method of research, the paper critically analyzes the major legal frameworks on health in Nigeria. It finds that, though Nigeria has laws that can help her improve on her performance in the area of health care, certain in-built clogs in these laws as well as extra-legal operational problems may make this difficult, if not outrightly impossible, unless they are adequately addressed.