Distribution of Resources in the Nigerian Health Care System

Book excerpt: This publication, representing the doctoral dissertation of Rev. Fr. Anthony Okechukwu Nnadi examines the healthcare system in Nigeria in the light of the Catholic social teaching. He supports that the allocation of health care resources is not only a matter of organization, but is also an ethical problem. The debacles and failure of the Nigerian health system, result from many factors including lack of will to implement the right policies on the ground, corruption among the leaders, lack of justice, lack of respect for the dignity of each human person, mismanagement, and insufficient consideration and application of ethical principles in the administration of common good, especially in the distribution of health care and social resources. For the distribution of health care resources, this doctoral dissertation suggests that priority be given to the basic health care needs of Nigerian citizens especially those who have no means of satisfying these needs themselves.In this context, the research affirms that great attention needs to be paid to ensuring that the principle of human dignity is completely respected in each and every policy in this important area.This doctoral thesis is an ethical vision of social reality in Nigeria. It proposes the person-centred Catholic principles as a possible way forward in the distribution of health care resources in Nigeria. It does not imply substituting the economic, political and health care experts in offering technical solutions in their areas of competence. The author is convinced that healthcare allocation is also an ethical issue that needs to be governed by ethical principles.The key factors for choosing this theme are based on the author’s knowledge of the deplorable condition of the health care system in Nigeria and his desire to save human lives. Rev. Fr. Anthony Okechukwu Nnadi believes that we are all stewards of human life. This implies a moral obligation to protect the dignity of the human person, which is inseparable from protecting human life.