The rest have suspended their operations due to unserviceable and faulty aircraft. Following a number of accidents in 1996, Nigerian aviation authorities are strictly enforcing safety regulations and have directed airline operators to conform with required checks on their aircraft. Grounded planes will need replacement of engines, component parts and navigational equipment from U.S. sources. Some airline operators will also need to purchase used but reliable aircraft to replenish their fleet and the U.S. aviation market will be the first choice. Aviation sources predict a boom in this sector in the next few years.
Local production is limited to peripheral items such as hospital beds and gurneys.
This is in addition to the private sector participation, which accounted for much of Nigeria's imports in 1997, valued at approximately USD 550 million. In the near term, this sector continues to promise strong growth rates that will be sustained by an increasing demand for equipment such as analytical and examination instruments, ultra sound scans, anesthesia equipment, mortuary and laboratory equipment. Nigeria's health policy is centered on primary health care delivered through an estimated 15,500 health institutions. A number of projects funded by the World Bank under different loan agreements, especially for the rural areas. The purchasing power of most Nigerian end-users is waning owing to devaluation of the national currency, and the widening gap between new technologies and developing economies.