A neurosurgeon, Professor Olufemi Adeleye, stated that the use of motorcycles and other single-occupant transport for mass transit is a brain-numbing, dangerous practice that should be urgently stopped to reduce the increasing cases of brain injury from road crashes in Nigeria.
Professor Adeleye, in his inaugural lecture entitled ‘Adversity, Neurosurgery, Innovations: Ibadan’ at the University of Ibadan, stated that motorcycle crashes have overtaken motor vehicle crashes as the most frequent cause of brain injury in recent decades, exacting a heavy toll on the limbs and lives of people, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
According to him, ‘the victims are the young, productive members of the population, often the riders themselves. They suffer severe brain injuries, which many times require surgical operations that they cannot afford; as a result, they simply perish.
‘For, as it turns out, they are actually not making any sustainable living whatsoever from this brain-numbing, infernal trade. Hence, they languish in the emergency rooms of hospitals, unable to raise the funds for even the basic medical tests and investigations required, let alone the surgical operations.’
‘For instance, the in-hospital cost of all that is involved with basic remedial brain surgery in an average situation is about 1 million naira, more or less.
The donor said that requiring patients to pay out-of-pocket for hospital care is a harmful health-financing model that burdens people who are already very impoverished, living on less than 50 cents a day, and called for it to be phased out.
‘Surely, parents who live on less than 50 cents a day may, if necessary, be encouraged-even urged-to find a way to personally bear the cost, the $10 expense of those childhood diseases; although they would not receive all the help or aid they need when faced with the misfortune of caring for a child with brain cancer or similar serious illnesses,’ he added.
Professor Adeleye also encouraged fostering a spirit of invention in medical care despite the resource-challenged environment in Nigeria, rather than being carried away by high-tech gadgets, saying, ‘we should always focus on how to simplify, at least for now. Think global, act local.’
He added, ‘We should arm ourselves with the most up-to-date, cutting-edge knowledge and skills in our trades and disciplines, and then steer our minds toward finding ways to simplify them for local acceptability, relevance, and affordability. Many tools, gadgets, and pieces of equipment used in healthcare institutions are products of advanced technologies, which often make their deployment logistically challenging in low-resource areas.
‘Let us gain all the necessary foreign exposure, not just to become local champions, but also to look forward to returning home with an eye for simple measures and tools that are more appropriate for our environment.’