Date of Award

5-2019

Document Type

Thesis - SCU Access Only

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2019.

Degree Name

Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL)

Director

Julie Hanlon Rubio

Abstract

I argue in this thesis that the neglect or mismanagement of healthcare institutions in Nigeria by the state’s actors results in inequity in health care, and violates the principle of justice, equity, and rights of the citizens. It is also a violation of African values. As such, it is inconsistent with true African identity as encapsulated in the African concept of ubuntu. It is equally inconsistent with the Christian vision of dignity of the human person, the common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity articulated by the Christian theology and social ethics. I rely on the framework of communitarian social ethical theory to demonstrate that the state owes the citizens the obligation to provide them with health care. Human life is relational in all its ramifications. A just relationship is one that leads to human development and flourishing, by creating necessary conditions for flourishing. Health care is a social good necessary to secure human development and flourishing that must be provided or distributed equitably and adequately to the people who need it. Therefore, the failure of Nigerian state in this crucial responsibility precipitates injustice. It violates the principle of fairness and justice, not only because it thwarts the efforts of the citizens to attain human flourishing, but also because it prevents them from developing and sustaining capabilities needed to fulfill their own natural and moral obligations to the community, chief among which is contribution to the common good. Finally, in view of the state of the Nigerian healthcare system with the issues of justice and equity that arise, I propose a multi-dimensional approach to healthcare ministry that can tackle the multi-dimensional problems associated with health care in Nigeria.

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