“People were begging for healing, there was absolute desperation as if the church was the last and only point of call…the only place where they could receive help….” So alleged a key informant in the BBC 2024 documentary on the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), which contains allegations of impropriety by the late leader of SCOAN – Prophet T.B. Joshua. The documentary revealed, perhaps unwittingly, Nigeria’s fragile health system and the concomitant desperation for healing amongst the masses. The frustration from the fragile health system and the desperation for healing predispose some sick persons to seek miraculous healing in religious centres instead of seeking proper medical care.
While the allegations in the BBC documentary have been contested in various quarters, what is clear is that there is an army of sick people who are exploited in many ways because of poor access to affordable and quality healthcare services in Nigeria.
This edition of Nextier SPD’s Policy Weekly x-rays the character of Nigeria’s fragile health system and the need to address the power relations which sustain and reproduce the dysfunctional health system.
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