Death of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s son prompts calls for overhaul of Nigeria’s healthcare sector

Pleas for scrutiny of system fraught with accusations of negligence after one-year-old’s death in hospital

Nigerians have called for urgent reforms to the healthcare sector after the death of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 21-month-old son prompted an outpouring of grief and accounts of negligence and inadequate care.

In a leaked WhatsApp message, the bestselling author said she had been told by a doctor that the resident anaesthesiologist at the Lagos hospital treating her son Nkanu Nnamdi had administered an overdose of the sedative propofol.