Glad Tidings and Goodwill

Wow… this man’s story is inspiring… we can all do something to help another, surely, no matter how small

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A true Good Samaritan.

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I have to confess to some reservations about this man’s ostentatious generosity. For instance, although he professes anonymity, it cannot realistically be accepted that he is not known to hospital staff and the wider society, and his wish to meet his beneficiaries at their bedside problematic, if not downright creepy.

I also find it incredible that patients are not allowed to leave hospital until they have paid their bill. Such is the pressure on hospital beds in African hospitals (I’ve worked in several) no one would be permitted free bed and board on the grounds that they can’t pay the bill.

A true philanthropist would never act like this. It is more likely that he is seeking publicity ahead of a bid for political prominence. Such advertised largesse, picked up by the media, is a tried-and-tested gambit in African politics, and doesn’t inspire me to anything but disgust.

According to a Chatham House Organisation research paper, published in 2017… there are many places in sub-Saharan Africa, where patients are detained in hospital (against their will) due to inability to pay medical bills…

Whether this man has long-term aims for self-advancement or not… I have no idea… but I am glad he is paying bills and enabling folk to leave hospital… :hugs:

Please will you supply a link to that Chatham House publication, Stella? :grinning:

You need to copy the long link… then paste-and-go … and it will bring up a whole page of stuff… one of which is a pdf “hospital detentions for non-payment of fees”

https://www.google.co.uk/search?ei=Mo8eXIrGCMKWa7rapPgD&q=Nigeria+hospital+rules+on+who+pays&oq=Nigeria+hospital+rules+on+who+pays&gs_l=psy-ab.3...72012.73804..74419...0.0..0.286.2915.2-12…0…1…gws-wiz…0i71j35i302i39j33i22i29i30j33i160.Ywm2ePkNmSY

Thanks Stella. Having scanned the sources quickly it seems that the Chatham House research based its findings on an extremely meagre sample of 14 second- or third-hand ‘grey reports’ in local newspapers about alleged detentions of vulnerable women in hospital for non-payment of fees: and the majority of others were refutations of such practices by reliable health and social-policy agencies in sub-Saharan Africa.

I wouldn’t deny that such practices are non-existent, and the Chatham House report recommends further research may be called for, but I have learned to take racially-slanted tales of African corruption and malpractice with a very generous pinch of salt. :wink::+1:

Oh dearie me… seems we may be getting “fake news” in all areas of reporting then Peter. Is he paying the bills or isn’t he… ???

It has been widely covered in recent days, in many languages… not just the BBC, so I am waiting to see if someone will print a different take on the story…

Perhaps we will be seeing more fake-news like… “Santa doesn’t exist” :zipper_mouth_face::wink:

I’m a grown up, Stella. I’m not a sucker for schmaltzy Christmas stories as a cover for someone’s ego-trip (the Nigerian fairy-story about a self-styled “angel”).

No cause for oh-dearing me, or for allusions to fake news either. Newspapers will publish any twaddle at this time of year, it’s their stock-in-trade when the politicians go home to their constituences, and news dries up.

BTW I’m not a scrooge, or a kill-joy. But I think I have a sense of proportion about some things. I respect your field of experience too, Stella, will you have some consideration for mine? :grinning:

And a joyeuse fête to you and all on SFN :hugs:

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