A Comparative Analysis of Health Indicators of Nigeria and Rwanda: A Nigerian Volunteer’s Perspective

摘要

Background: Nigeria and Rwanda are both developing countries located in Sub-Saharan Africa. They are differently endowed with natural and human resources but what does that translates into in terms of health care?This study aimed at a critical comparative analysis of selected health indicators of Nigeria and Rwanda(a country ravaged by genocide 16 years ago). Materials and Methods: I performed MEDLINE and bibliographic searches for English-language studies relevant to health indicators of Nigeria and Rwanda, including a search of non-indexed local journals. Personal observation and experience as Nigerian Technical Aid Corp Volunteer in Rwanda from May 2005 to May 2007 was also used. The information obtained included: demographic and socioeconomic data, mortality statistics, selected burden of diseases, health service coverage, risk factors for some diseases, health system resources and health expenditure of Nigeria and Rwanda. Results: The findings showed that most of the health indicators such as poverty index, life expectancy, child mortalities, immunisation coverage, contraceptive prevalence, access to improved drinking water, tuberculosis treatment success, hospital beds per population, among others of Rwanda are better than that of Nigeria despite the huge human and natural resources Nigeria is endowed with. Conclusion: There is need for concerted effort at the Federal, State and Local levels in Nigeria to harness the human and natural resources of the nations to improve on the health status of the people, and this should bemulti-sectoral, multi-dimensional and disciplinary in nature.