The federal government allocated the sum of N37.12bn to the University College Hospital, UCH, in the last three years.
This is just as Punch, in its analysis of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 budgets reported that the Federal Government allocated N475.3bn to its 21 teaching hospitals in three years.
A breakdown of the N475.37bn allocated to the Federal Government-owned teaching hospitals showed that N140.68bn was allocated to them in 2017, while in the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years; they were allocated N158.24bn and N176.45bn, respectively.
Further analysis showed that during the three-year period, the University College Hospital, Ibadan was allocated N37.12bn; LUTH, N20.96bn; Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, N21.19bn; UNTH, N32.09bn; while N24.92 was allocated to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
Others are OAUTH, N25.59bn; University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, N23.38bn; University of Jos Teaching Hospital, N21.26bn; University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital,N6.91bn; University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, N27.34bn; University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, N21.23bn; Usman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital N19.48bn; and Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospital, N22.16bn.
Also, the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital was allocated N23.94bn; University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, N17.02bn; ATBUTH, N12.15bn; Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, N36.53bn; Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, N11.09bn; Federal Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, N17.65bn; Federal Specialist Hospital, Irrua, N17.24bn; and the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, N18.37bn.
However, it was not certain that the amounts released to these hospitals during the period under review were in tandem with what were allocated to them
The paucity of funds at the teaching hospitals is coming against the backdrop of the recent revelation by President Muhammadu Buhari that the country spent N400bn annually on medical tourism.
Some Chief Medical Directors of federal universities’ teaching hospitals, it was reported, have lamented the underfunding of the tertiary health institutions in the country.
This, they said, had been stifling their operations. However, some of them said their health facilities had been relying on donations from foreign donors, alumni associations, well-meaning Nigerians and organisations.
Some of the CMDs, in separate interviews, said despite the underfunding of the teaching hospitals, patients, who should be attended to at primary and secondary health institutions, had been besieging the tertiary hospitals for the treatment of common ailments such as cold and malaria.
The Chief Medical Director of the Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Prof Victor Adetiloye, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said the hospital had been surviving on donations from well-meaning Nigerians, alumni of the institution and foreign donors.
