Medical Law is a branch of Law that pertains to the interactions between doctors and patients. It covers issues such as consent, confidentiality, clinical negligence, mental health, public health, legal and ethical issues in reproduction, end-of-life issues and research governance. This is a relatively new but swiftly growing field of Law.

Health care is not just about doctors and patients. There are other health professionals, other stakeholders, other domains such as health care financing, food and drug administration, health sector development (public and private), control of infection, global health, and health technology. The legal framework encompassing these, and others, is Health Law. Medical Law is defined in our programme as a subset of Health Law.

Through the UNIMED Health Law and Policy programme, the university has introduced the teaching of Medical Law into the undergraduate medical curriculum for the first time in the history of medical education in Nigeria. There is an interactive Medico-Legal Forum where students discuss topical issues periodically.

At postgraduate level, we have instituted a Master’s degree programme in Health Law and Policy, the first of its kind in Nigeria, and hope to offer opportunities for doctoral degree in the 2023/24 academic year.

Prof Leroy Edozien  BSc, MSc MB BS LLB, MPhil, PhD

Director of the Health Law and Policy Programme.

                        The UNIMED Health Law and Policy programme aims to:

·       Enhance the knowledge and competencies of health professionals, service managers and legal practitioners wishing to explore career paths pertinent to the discipline of Health Law and Policy.

·       Disseminate knowledge in the field, with emphasis on international best practice in national and global Health Law.

·       Nurture research and innovation in Health Law and Policy in Nigerian academia.

·       Enhance the technical, research and advisory capacities of UNIMED in the field of Heath Law and Policy.

Beyond the education and training of legal and health professionals, the programme is intended to support the promotion of evidence-based legislation, law reform and modernisation, instigation of informed cross-sectoral policy-making, assessment and evaluation of health legislation and policies, legal technical assistance to health institutions, and other elements of health system strengthening.

The MSc degree programme in Health Law and Policy is delivered mostly through the University’s e-learning resources. Taught courses are conducted over two semesters, then students will have 3 months to work on and submit a dissertation.

Graduates of the programme will be expected to:

·       have knowledge of contemporary issues and recent advances in Health Law and Policy.

·       deploy this knowledge to inform the formulation, implementation and monitoring of health policy and health services delivery.

·       be able to facilitate the development of legal frameworks underpinning clinical practice.

Applicants for admission into the Master‘s degree programme shall possess the following qualification:

 (a) a first degree in Medicine, Dentistry, Law or any other discipline in the health sciences and social sciences (MB BS, BDS, LLB, BSc 2:2 or higher) or

(b) a registrable professional qualification and a minimum of two years’ post-qualification field experience; or

(c) any other qualification deemed equivalent and acceptable by the Board of the Postgraduate School and approved by University Senate.