THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS AND HEALTHCARE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The article evaluates the impact of the recent global economic crisis on healthcare delivery in Nigeria. This is set against the backdrop of the general concern expressed at the onset of the crisis that it will have grave consequences on the health sector not only in the less developed countries but even in the OECD countries as well. We predicated our analysis on the theoretical tradition of the Marxian political economy paradigm which views global economic crisis such as was recently experienced not as an isolated event but as part and parcel of the generalized/cyclical capitalist crisis. We used tables and graphs to empirically measure the actual impact of the crisis vis-à-vis the earlier projections.  We found that the crisis impacted adversely on healthcare delivery in Nigeria, particularly on the HIV/AIDS sub-sector but that the impact was not as grave as had been predicted. The study noted that the impact was mitigated in part by the limited duration of the crisis, but also by the continued intervention of some overseas development agencies. Hence, we recommend that African leaders must learn to mobilize their vast human and natural resources to play the global competitive game rather than continue to rely on external sources to cushion the effects of future crisis on their populace.