The Resistance Against Oppression, Sexual Harassment and Anti-Poor Policies (ROSA) has blamed government neglect, poor healthcare funding and weak regulation for the deaths linked to a suspected toxic herbal drink in Ondo State.
The group said the death toll had risen to 49, with about 170 people affected across Odigbo, Irele and Araromi-Obu communities.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Jimoh Abibat, obtained on Wednesday, ROSA-Nigeria said the incident had exposed what it described as the poor state of Nigeria’s healthcare system and regulatory failures in the herbal medicine sector.
Jimoh said, “ROSA-Nigeria condemns the government’s neglect and holds the government responsible for these deaths.”
It argued that rising inflation and the cost of healthcare were forcing many Nigerians to seek alternative forms of treatment, saying the situation could not be reduced to individual choices.
The statement said, “This is not simply a question of individual choices; it is a reflection of a healthcare system that has been abandoned and a government that continues to shift the burden of healthcare onto ordinary people.”
ROSA-Nigeria cited World Health Organisation data which it said showed that household out-of-pocket payments accounted for about 72 per cent of Nigeria’s current health expenditure in 2023.
It said, “When a worker, farmer, trader, student, or unemployed young person falls sick, the question is often not only, ‘What treatment do I need?’ It is also, ‘Can I pay for the hospital card? Can I afford the consultation? Can I pay for the test? Can I afford the drugs? Can I afford transport to the hospital? Will there be doctors or nurses to attend to me?’”
The organisation also raised concerns about the availability and distribution of healthcare workers, citing the Federal Ministry of Health’s 2024 State of Health of the Nation report.
It said the report put Nigeria’s doctor-to-population ratio at 2.9 doctors per 10,000 people, compared with the WHO reference level of 17 doctors per 10,000.
ROSA-Nigeria also criticised the regulation of herbal medicines, arguing that some products could reach consumers without adequate testing, labelling and quality control.
The group called for increased funding for NAFDAC and other regulatory agencies, regular inspections, laboratory testing and stronger enforcement against producers who knowingly endanger lives.
It also demanded improved funding for public healthcare facilities, investment in primary healthcare, better working conditions for health workers and scientific research into traditional medicine.
The group said, “Most importantly, demand that public health must come before profit.”
ROSA-Nigeria further called on the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, National Association of Resident Doctors and other health professional unions to organise and demand increased funding for the health sector and democratic control under the unions.
It urged the government to prioritise public health and ensure that poor and working-class Nigerians could access healthcare without being pushed towards unsafe alternatives.
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