In a move to improve and regulate the healthcare system in Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria, the state government has shut down 184 private hospitals, clinics and laboratories.

Private facilities, which represented seven per cent of the total number of hospitals in Lagos, failed to meet basic standards of hygiene and staff training. Authorities say the move is to check corruption and mismanagement in private hospitals. Private clinic owners, however, say people depend on their clinics due to a decline in the standard of the public healthcare system.

The government plans to refurbish existing hospitals and set up new general hospitals under a four-year infrastructure development plan.