By Dr. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu

It is heartbreaking to lose a young, gifted soul like Ifunanya Nwangene. A rising star, full of promise – gone, not because snakebites are new, but because our system failed her.
Across the world, snakebites are medical emergencies that are routinely treated. People survive. Antivenom is stocked. Protocols exist. Ambulances run. Referral systems work.
But in Nigeria, in 2026, a young woman was taken from hospital to hospital while time slipped away because lifesaving antivenom was unavailable.
Let us be honest with ourselves: the snake did not kill Ifunanya. Nigeria did.
This is not an isolated tragedy. A few weeks ago, Chimamanda Adichie lost her son to alleged negligence in a private hospital. Countless unnamed Nigerians die daily from treatable conditions such as malaria, asthma, childbirth complications, accidents, simply because basic care is absent or delayed.
We build flyovers. We commission “ultramodern” hospitals. We hold ceremonies.
Yet primary healthcare centres are abandoned. Emergency response systems barely exist. Essential drugs are missing. Doctors are fleeing. Nurses are exhausted. Citizens are left to fend for themselves at their most vulnerable moments.
What kind of country allows its people to die because refrigerators meant to store antivenom are empty?
What kind of leadership prioritizes optics over outcomes?
What kind of society accepts this as normal?
The most painful part is this: Ifunanya’s case is trending because she was visible. Millions of others die quietly, without hashtags, without headlines.
This is why Nigerians are angry. This is why “Nigeria happened to her” resonates so deeply. Because it captures a shared fear that any of us could be next.
Healthcare is not a privilege. It is a right.
Emergency care is not optional. It is fundamental.
Human life is not expendable.
Enough is enough.
We must demand accountability. We must insist on functional primary healthcare, stocked essential medicines, emergency transport, and a health system that serves people, not politics.
This is why I continue to advocate for decentralized, technology-enabled, solar-powered community health centres — bringing care closer to the people, strengthening primary healthcare, and ensuring essential medicines are always available.
Healthcare must be accessible, affordable, and functional, whether in Abuja, Ibadan, Emeabiam, or any rural village.
We have reached a breaking point.
Nigeria must choose life.
If we do not raise our voices now, we are complicit in the next preventable death.
Rest in peace, Ifunanya.
May your passing awaken a nation.

–Dr. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu
Email: akeredolubetty@gmail.com