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Ramadan: Fruit sellers blame middlemen for high cost

Ramadan: Fruit traders blame middlemen, transporters for high cost
By Ahmed Ubandoma
Fruits
Abuja, May 9, 2019 (NAN) Some fruit traders in Abuja have attributed the hike in prices of perishable food items during the Ramadan period to the role middlemen and transportation.
They said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the Maitama Farmer’s Market on Thursday in Abuja.
Some of the respondents blamed the high cost of the items on the activities of who they described as “errand boys’’ that posed as third party between the farmers and sellers thereby imposing extra charges.
Mr Ibrahim Musa, a fruit seller in the market, said the price of fruits have risen during the Ramadan period.
According to him, the price of some items doubled compared to previous months before the Ramadan fasting period.
Musa explained that the prices of fruits such as watermelon, pineapple and pawpaw have increased.
“We used to buy 100 pieces of watermelon from farmers at the rate of N25,000 to N30,000 and now the price increased to between N50,000 and N55,000, depending on how you bargain.
“We buy 12 pieces of pineapple at the rate of between N8,000 and N8,500, but now the price has increased from N10,000 to N10,500.
“Pawpaw which we used to buy at the rate of N3,000 to N3,500, is now sold at N10,000 per dozen, but the prices of mango, onion and other food items remained the same,” he said.
He said that customers have complained about the increase in cost of fruits especially at the period of Ramadan.
“Most of our customers wanted to know the actual reasons for the hike in the prices of fruits, asking if there is shortage of fruits in the farm or the cost of transportation.
“But, we realised that the farm produce are available and one of the challenges we are facing is that some of the errand boys who have no business in the market always come once the goods are brought from the farm and hijack it.
“They demand for their commission from the farmers and the buyers.
“So, one of our problems are the errand boys not the farmers and you know we are businessmen whatever we pay in the process, we add it up in the price of the items because nobody will like to lose in business,” he said.
Musa further explained that the business used to boom during special occasions, festivities and fasting periods.
“From morning to the closing hour, we use to make sales of between N350,000 and N400,000, depending on the variety of fruits in one’s shop,” he said.
On his part, Mr Yakubu Adamu expressed concern over the inability of some customers to appreciate their predicament considering the cost of transportation and activities of the middlemen in the market.
Adamu said the prices of pawpaw, plantain, pineapple and apple increased due to the activities of those boys and the cost of transportation.
“So, for me that doesn’t have the varieties of fruits like my counterparts, I always find it difficult to convince my customers about the hike in the prices of fruits.
“Our sales depend largely on how customers patronise our shop. But at the end of market day I can realise between N60,000 and N100,000,” he added.
Malam Surajo Magaji also attributed the increase in prices of fruits to the cost of transporting goods from the farm.
Magaji said the hike in prices resulted in low patronage by their customers.
“Customers are patronising our shops but in a very low manner compared to previous years, though this is the first week of fasting, but we are hopeful the market will boom in the coming weeks,” he said. (NAN)
AMU/ENN/MST
Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

General news

High cost of laboratory test irks pathologist

High cost of laboratory test irks pathologist
By Ummul Idris
Laboratory
Abuja, Feb. 1, 2019 (NAN) Dr Precious Obinna, an FCT base Pathologist, has expressed worry over the high cost of laboratory test in the country.
Fielding questions from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja, Obinna called on laboratory owners to reduce their charges.
She noted that where the costs of laboratory test was outrageous and out of reach of those in search of it could worsen the health of the individual.
Obinna said that when patients could not afford to pay such crazy bills as charged by the proprietors, it could have a multiplier adverse effect on healthcare services.
She also called on laboratory owners to improve the quality and value of the tests, adding that the result that should be delivered to patient timely and physician should enable them to diagnose the ailment.
She however advised Nigerians to patronise pathology laboratories headed by qualified pathologists to avoid unpleasant consequences.
According to her, the best patients’ management can only be guaranteed by laboratories headed by pathologists.
She noted that such patronage in a certified owner’s laboratory was the only way to sustain best patient management in hospitals across the country.
Pathologists are experts in understanding the basis and diagnosis of different kinds of diseases, typically categorised by organs. (NAN)
UMD/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Stakeholders proffer solutions to high cost of healthcare services

Stakeholders proffer solutions to high cost of healthcare services

Healthcare
Lagos, July 6, 2018 (NAN) Some healthcare providers and patients in Lagos have called for more, functional, accessible and affordable healthcare facilities to save lives and prevent medical tourism.

The stakeholders made the appeal while fielding questions from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the high cost of diagnosis and healthcare consumables in the country.

They attributed the difficulty in accessing efficient and quality healthcare services to distant facilities, exorbitant cost of consumables, multiple taxes, infrastructure and near absence of social amenities, including electricity and water supply.

According to them, there is need for government to subsidise cost of care, as well as put in structures to ensure good service delivery.

Mr Elochukwu Adibo, the Laboratory Director, El-Lab Medical Diagnostics and Research Centre, Lagos, told NAN that the first component of making healthcare accessible and affordable was the availability of the facilities.

According to him, after having a facility that can deliver the service required, the next component to look out for will be, paying for the services.

“Some people come to the private practice to access healthcare and they say it is expensive.

“For you to get quality healthcare right now, it involves a lot and that is why some people say it is expensive,’’ he said.

Adibo, who is also a Biomedical Scientist, explained that getting consumables like reagents and running the facilities was capital intensive.

“To run a good facility 24 hours, alternative source of power such as generators, inverters and solar should be available.

“As an International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) accredited laboratory, we need to make sure that everything runs 24 hours without interruption; it costs a lot to do that.

“When you factor all that in and bring the cost of your service, like malaria and blood sugar test on the table for walk-in patients, some may find it expensive,’’ he said.

Adibo urged governments to support private practitioners by providing subsidy that would help reduce the cost of quality healthcare delivery.

Mrs Esther Iyede, Head of Laboratory Services, Amuwo Odofin Maternal and Child Centre (AOMCC) , FESTAC Lagos, said that healthcare services were cheaper at public hospitals because the services were subsidised by governments.

Iyede explained that most patients believed that healthcare services should be completely free at the government hospitals, without considering the cost of providing it.

According to her, some of the reagents used at the laboratory are expensive.

“Most of the reagents we use are not manual, which is cheaper but takes more time.

“If they are not subsidised, they will be more expensive.

“For example, to do a full blood count in the private may cost between N3,500 and N5,000 but here we do it for children at N1,500 and N2,000 for adults.

“If you want to talk about private hospitals with laboratories, these tests will go for as much as N10,000.

“I was shocked to hear that some hospitals charge as much as half a million naira for normal delivery, some even N1 million.

“But in government hospitals, it is not even up to N30,000; so if you compare the margin, it is more or less free,’’ she said.

The laboratory services head urged patients to take advantage of the government hospitals, which she said could boast of having qualified professionals in every department.

To strengthen diagnostic and healthcare services, a Professor of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis, Oluyemi Akinloye, told NAN that there was need to develop capacity in improving health diagnosis across the country.

Akinkoye, who works at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL), said: “Healthcare delivery system, especially diagnosis practice, in most part of the world is multi-disciplinary.

“This includes sociologist, engineers and professionals in healthcare system coming together to develop technology that are beneficiary to the patient.

“By the time we begin to care for the patients and seek methods that can be beneficial to them, the healthcare delivery system in this country will begin to change, including health diagnosis,’’ he said.

Akinloye urged government to heavily subsidise the cost of healthcare delivery for desired better services to be achieved.

“In most developed part of the world, healthcare services are usually prioritised and heavily subsidised by the government.

“But currently, the kind of system that we run is more isolated than a thin structure that the health system is naturally made to be,’’ he said.

According to him, both government and healthcare professionals need to show commitment to ensure quality healthcare delivery that will be beneficial to patients.

“The diagnoses of health diseases all over the world have changed over the years; there has been a lot of revolution where robotics is coming into diagnosis and the imaging technology is becoming highly sophisticated.

“Whereas, the diagnosis system in this country is low because we are still doing surface diagnosis.

“We are still looking at the organ function, when all over the world the emphasis has been on cellular and genomic diagnosis; so we still have a long way to go,’’ he said.

Akinloye, however, urged government at all levels to recognise the specialty, contributions and peculiarity of each member of the health team in order to achieve a well developed healthcare system.

Another medical practitioner, Dr Tunji Akintade, said that another solution to improving the situation would be to ensure transparency in the health insurance scheme.

Akintade, who is also the Chairman, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN), Lagos Chapter, said: “ The health insurance scheme should be for majority of the people.

“This will help those who cannot afford some medical bills to have access to good healthcare.

“So, the cost of some medical bills, laboratory tests, scan and others definitely affect quality healthcare delivery services.

“Also, neglect, attitude of staff, lack of funds and equipment also contribute to lack of accessible and affordable healthcare delivery services.’’

He said that the disparity of cost in both private and public hospital places were as a result of rent, wages, taxes, utility bills, staff salary, power and brand cost.

“The worries of payment of all these are in other government agencies and there is always budget for it.

“There is some concerted effort by the association to get a minimum tariff for the socio-economic status of different private hospitals in Lagos,” Akintade said.

He said that the full recognition of private hospitals in the constitution of Nigeria as a statutory body of health provider in private sector would also help healthcare system.

According to him, government should also put waivers on all pharmaceuticals, laboratory equipment and unique utility rates for health facilities.

He advised government at all levels to always encourage all health workers by providing good working environments, funds, equipment and necessary benefits.

Some patients also called on the Federal and State Governments to invest more in the health sector in order to alleviate the sufferings of many who could not afford to pay for healthcare.

The patients agreed that the high cost of diagnosis was limiting their access to quality healthcare; while those who could afford to pay for laboratory tests in spite of the high costs, said there was need to cushion the burden.

A patient, Mrs Naomi Badmus, said she took her elderly father for psychiatry evaluation and was told to carry out some tests.

She said that the cost added up to about N12,000, which she paid.

“Compared to private laboratories, the government owned laboratory offer lower costs for diagnosis.

“So, I am comfortable paying for healthcare in this Yaba Psychiatry Laboratory.

“However, the cost of healthcare generally is high; what we need is for the government to assist those who cannot afford to pay for anything at all to improve their lives,’’ she said.

Another patient, a 59-year-old man, Mr Fidelis Nwakwo, said he was given a bill of N4,500 to carry out tests that included full blood count to check his kidney function, which according to him, is expensive.

Nwakwo said: “I know that government hospitals still offer far cheaper than the private ones, but it is still a burden for those of us who cannot afford to pay.

“I do not have health insurance, because I do not work in an organisation that provides such for their employees.

“Paying for healthcare generally is a huge burden, especially for people in the rural areas.’’

Also, a 25-year-old graduate, Miss Maria Ifeoluwa, who had appendectomy, told NAN that she did a scan at a private facility for N8,000.

“It is very expensive to access healthcare in Nigeria; if people in the urban area are struggling to pay for healthcare, how much more for those in the rural areas.

“The government need to step up and improve our health sector so that people’s lives are improved.

“When a country has healthy citizens, it translates to a healthy and productive nation,’’ Ifeoluwa said.

Meanwhile, a new joint report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank, poor quality health services are holding back progress on improving health in countries at all income levels.

The report said that inaccurate diagnosis, medication errors, inappropriate or unnecessary treatment, inadequate or unsafe clinical facilities or practices, or providers who lack adequate training and expertise prevail in all countries.

The report, titled: “Delivering Quality Health Services – a Global Imperative for Universal Health Coverage’’, also highlighted that sickness associated with poor quality healthcare imposes additional expenditure on families and health systems.

According to the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, there can be no universal health coverage without quality care.

“Good health is the foundation of a country’s human capital, and no country can afford low-quality or unsafe healthcare,” the World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim said. (NAN)
Reporters/VIV/MST
Edited by Vivian Ihechu/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Association attributes high cost of medical tests to importation of consumables

Association attributes high cost of medical tests to importation of consumables
By Felicia Imohimi
Importation
Abuja, July 4, 2018 (NAN) The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) has attributed high cost of healthcare delivery in the country to importation of consumables and other medicaments.
Dr Casmir Ifeanyi, the Spokesman of the association, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
Ifeanyi noted that since 2015 all the consumables and medicament, including reagents, used in the course of medical diagnostic, treatment and general management and prevention of diseases were imported.
“Simple needle and infusion, cotton wool are not 100 per cent produced in the country,’’ he said, adding “this is contributing the high cost of medical services’’.
Ifeanyi further identified cost of accommodation for private health practitioners as well as multiple taxation as contributing factors against achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
“All consumables and medicaments used in the diagnosis, treatment, general management and prevention of diseases are all imported and the companies charge exorbitant cost because foreign exchange is involved.
“All that impede negatively into billing and determination of cost or access to treatment in the country, this results in exorbitant cost,” the spokesman said.
Ifeanyi however flayed the intervention of government through the Bank of Industry and the African Development Bank, saying such measures are not the way forward in addressing this challenge.
He advised government to embark on capacity building for in-country production of consumables, diagnosis and supporting people that have expressed ingenuity in this regard.
According to him, one of his friends that has a factory with the capacity of producing the best test kits for HIV, TB, Syphilis and pregnancy, among others, closed the factory due to lack of support and encouragement by the government.
He emphasised that there was nothing we could achieve by depending on importation of medical consumables, describing internal production as key in achieving UHC.
“The way forward is that government must indeed continue to provide enabling environment for people to begin to produce basic consumables even cotton wool and when we start producing prices of healthcare services will come down.
“We must identify various talents who have intellectual capacity, skills to be able to produce things in this country and government must find way of supporting them in order to become self sufficient in the production of some medical consumables.
“Such efforts will have ripple effect on ability and prices by health care practitioners on medical services will dropped for easier access by the entire populace,” he said.
NAN reports that simple malaria test ranges between N900 and N1,200, depending on the service provider and location. (NAN)
FUA/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Foreign

ECOWAS cuts operational costs by $12m

ECOWAS cuts operational costs by $12m

NAN-H-112

Costs

By Temitope Ponle

Abuja, Feb. 10, 2017 (NAN) The ECOWAS Commission has said it was able to save about $12 million in its efforts to cut operational costs of its institutions.

Mr Marcel de Souza said this at the opening of the first Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja on Friday.

De Souza, who was represented by Mr Edward Singhatey, Vice President of the commission, said efficient cost control measures had been implemented to make the organisation more effective and credible.

“The cost cutting measures were put in place by the new management when we took over office in March 2016.

“There was an urgent need for those measures to be put in place because when we assumed the role of management; we found out that the commission was in a precarious financial situation.

“We had to look at the financing that was available vis a vis the projects and activities we were supposed to implement and rationalise them; we had to prioritise them and rationalise our expenditure.

“We took a number of measures by cutting out unnecessary expenditure, streamlining delegations for meetings and cutting out certain activities we felt we could do without in 2016.

“As a result, we saved somewhere between eight to 12 million dollars.”

He added that the measure led to savings in all community institutions and resulted in the resumption of the institutional reform and operations of the Task Force on free movement in line with the vision 2020.

The commission president reiterated that the cut in cost was to implement programmes and projects that will facilitate the ECOWAS Vision 2020.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that in Dec. 2016, Chairperson of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, called for a cut in administration costs and a focus on programmes which aim to enhance regional development. (NAN)

TOP/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola