Death of Author’s Toddler Puts Nigeria Healthcare Under Scrutiny

Celebrated Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie has blamed the death of her 21-month old son on medical negligence, sparking a national conversation about healthcare standards in Africa’s most populous nation.

Nkanu Nnamdi received treatment for an infection in a first hospital and was moved to Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Lagos, the commercial capital, on Jan. 6 for diagnostic tests before a planned evacuation to John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore the next day, according to an account written by Adichie, who’s based in the US. Nkanu, one of two twin boys, died in hospital early on Jan. 7.