HEFAMAA Offers Solutions to Quackery in Health Sector

Lagos State Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency has said the key tools in controlling quackery in the health sector are community education and awareness.

Speaking at the stakeholder’s engagement meeting organised by HEFAMAA, titled, ‘Combating quackery in the health sector: Strengthening stakeholders’ collaboration and regulatory oversight,’ keynote speaker, former Chief Medical Director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Prof. Akin Osibogun, said that community collaboration, provision and access to quality health services, professional regulation, and health facility regulation and monitoring were critical to checking quackery.

He said, “The established regulator must maintain a reliable intelligence network and must dominate its space since quackery thrives most in ungoverned health spaces. The Lagos State Government and other states that have established agencies for health facility monitoring and accreditation must be commended in this regard.”

He advised the staff of HEFAMAA to continuously update themselves, educate members of the public, engage stakeholders, follow due process as laid down by the agency and be firm in applying stipulated sanctions.

The Executive Secretary, HEFAMAA, Dr Abiola Idowu said there was a need to expand its stakeholders’ engagement to include policemen, who were key in combating quackery.

She lamented that quackery had eaten deep into society and that there was an urgent need to combat it.

The Chairman of HEFAMAA, Dr Yemisi Solanke-Koya, said that the stakeholders’ engagement was put together for better collaboration with critical players in the sector as they were important members at curbing the menace in the state.

Also speaking, Permanthe ent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Olusegun Ogboye, who was represented by a director in the ministry, Olufunmilayo Shokumbi, said tackling quackery was the business of everyone.

“This business is everybody’s and we will all combat quackery together and we will achieve it together in the health sector,” he said.

Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association, Lagos Chapter, Dr Benjamin Olowojebutu, advised that “To actually combat quackery, I realised that most times these things happen in the suburb, and those areas connecting Lagos to Ogun State. We need to also collaborate with the Ogun State Government to make sure that there is an intelligence inter-state combating of the quacks in the area.”

Chairman of Medical Lab Scientist, Lagos State Branch, Mr Abioye Akanji, said the government should collaborate with health professional associations, saying quacks in every community could only be identified by associations.

July 20, 2023