Only 200 of the over 80,000 children born with heart-related problems access medical cure in Nigeria.
The National President of the Association of Caridiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons of Nigeria, Dr. Uvie Onakpoya disclosed this on Saturday.
In a press briefing shortly after a successiful open heart surgery at the Usman Danfordiyo University Teaching Hospital on Saturday, the Dr Onakpoya said between 50,000 and 80,000 babies were born with heart problem annually in the country.
He said out of this number, only 200 accessed medication but for the rest “only God knows their fate”
Dr. Onakpoya faulted those traveling abroad for heart surgery because it was something which could be done here in Nigeria.
He said many tertiary hospitals in the southern part of the country were performing routine open heart surgery, wondering why “our brothers must spend huge amount of money for something which they could get at cheapest rate at home.”
“We have the equipments and well trained personnel that conduct the operation at affordable price,” he said
He however, lamented that, in the whole northern region, there was no a hospital that could perform a routine open heart surgery, noting that, this was the first of many mission coming to Sokoto until the team in Sokoto could perform a routine surgery without any support.
He appealed to the federal government to remove doctors from its blanket policy, banning its workers from oversea training.
The head of the Cardiovascular centre of UDUTH, Dr. Abubakar Umar, said that, this was the first mission conducted in the hospital without any foreign support.
He said the cardiologists that participated in the mission were from Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife.
A father of one of the children operated upon, Haruna Idris, said before the operation he had lost hope because he could not afford taking his child abroad for heart surgery.
“But glory be to Allah, I spent less and the operation was successful and my child is recovering,” he said
