Amid growing concerns over the high cost of healthcare abroad, many Nigerians in the diaspora are increasingly returning home to access medical services, reversing the long-held belief that quality treatment is only obtainable outside the country.
Findings show that Nigerians living overseas now travel back to Nigeria for major surgeries, comprehensive medical diagnoses and fertility treatments such as In Vitro Fertilisation and Intrauterine Insemination, largely due to affordability and quicker access to care.
Some returnees also complain of limited medical attention abroad, alleging that serious symptoms are often managed with basic pain relief without thorough investigations, unless patients can afford expensive specialist services.
A Nigerian in the diaspora, Mr Freedom Adams, said his experience with emergency care overseas pushed him to seek treatment in Nigeria. He explained that after being hospitalised for hours abroad, he was given pain relief without a clear diagnosis, but was properly examined and treated when he later visited a hospital in Nigeria.
According to Adams, tests conducted in Nigeria revealed he had piles and an ulcer, conditions that were promptly treated, prompting him to make routine medical check-ups in Nigeria a personal practice due to lower costs and easier access to care.
Confirming the trend, a gynaecologist, Mr Adewale Makinde, said Nigerian fertility clinics were recording an influx of women from abroad seeking IVF services, noting that the cost of consultation and procedures overseas was overwhelming compared to Nigeria.
Makinde added that while living conditions and infrastructure abroad may be better, the high cost of living and healthcare has driven many Nigerians to return home for treatments they can afford without compromising success rates.
Also speaking, a surgeon, Mr Aderenle Ogunwusi, said many middle-aged Nigerians in the diaspora now return home for surgical procedures and general wellness care, stressing that operations costing thousands of dollars or pounds abroad could be done in Nigeria for less than N3m, depending on the hospital.
He said the combination of affordability and competent medical professionals in the country has continued to attract Nigerians back home for treatment, describing the trend as a cost-saving decision rather than a compromise on quality.
