Terfa Kene, President of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN), has identified insecurity and poverty as major obstacles to improving public health outcomes in Nigeria. He made the remarks during an interview with journalists on Sunday in Abuja. According to Mr Kene, despite ongoing government efforts, structural challenges continue to weaken health service delivery across the country. He stated that insecurity forces health workers to flee affected areas, leaving facilities unstaffed and disrupting essential programmes like immunisation.
Poverty, he said, is inseparable from poor health, noting that "poverty and disease are twins" and that with 70 per cent of Nigerians living in poverty, health indicators inevitably deteriorate. He linked declining purchasing power to reduced access to food and healthcare, worsening maternal and infant mortality rates. Mr Kene also pointed to systemic weaknesses in primary healthcare, including lack of power supply, which affects vaccine storage, surgeries, and overall care delivery.
He stressed that infrastructure alone is not enough, urging community involvement in sustaining primary healthcare centres. Mr Kene called for collective action, suggesting community funding models where locals contribute to equip facilities with water and solar energy. The APHPN is promoting telemedicine, adoption of primary healthcare centres, and stakeholder partnerships to improve access. He acknowledged bureaucratic delays and resistance but expressed hope that sustained collaboration will yield results.
Terfa Kene highlights that 70 per cent of Nigerians live in poverty yet calls for community funding of clinics, raising the question of how the poor will pay for healthcare. If most citizens cannot afford basic services, shifting the burden to communities risks deepening health inequality. Solutions that rely on public contributions ignore the reality of widespread destitution. Without direct government action to reduce poverty, such appeals may amount to little more than symbolic gestures.
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