The proposed National Health Facility Regulatory Agency promises better oversight. But HACPAN says it will only duplicate existing regulators, add more fees, and leave ordinary Nigerians to pay the price. Mary Nnah writes
On a Thursday morning in Ikeja, the air was thick with more than just Lagos humidity. Inside a conference room, hospital owners, laboratory scientists, pharmacists, and maternity home operators sat shoulder to shoulder.
They were not politicians. They were not bureaucrats. They were the people Nigerians call at 2 a.m. when a child has a fever, when labour starts early, and when an accident happens down the street.
They came under one umbrella: the Healthcare Providers’ Association of Nigeria (HACPAN). And the reason they gathered was simple. A bill in Abuja could decide whether their doors stay open, or whether the next patient will have to travel farther, pay more, and wait longer.
The bill is called the National Health Facility Regulatory Agency of Nigeria Bill (NHFRA). On paper, it promises “quality assurance” and “patient safety.” But for the men and women who run Nigeria’s private clinics, it feels like another weight on an already tired back.
