The Nigerian Medical Association has warned that the brain drain in the health sector may someday force Nigeria to import medical doctors.
This was stated by Oyo State NMA Chairman, Dr. Ayotunde Fasunla, in Ibadan on Tuesday, at the official opening of the 2022 scientific conference, titled: ‘National Health Authority Act – The Sound Bites’, according to NAN.
He urged the FG to fix the welfare of health professionals and infrastructure to stem the outflow of health workers
What the NMA is saying
Dr Fasunla called for a state of emergency in the health sector with a view to holistically addressing the menace of pull and push factors responsible for mass migration of health personnel to Europe, America, Middle East and other African countries.
He added that the poor state of government-owned hospitals in the country was largely due to poor funding, citing the budgetary allocation to the health sector in 2022 was approximately 4.2% of the national budget, which he said is below the recommended African Union (AU) threshold at the Abuja Declaration of a minimum of 15%.
- He said: “The infrastructure deficit is such that some of our hospitals spend a significant amount of their internally generated revenues on diesel to ensure power supply.
- “There is scarcity of funds to apply for equipment upgrade, manpower development or even recruitment of new staff.
- “Many of our hospitals are grossly under-staffed. Even the process of replacing migrating staff is bogged down by a rigid and insensitive government bureaucracy.
- “It is our plea to the government to commit more funds to the health sector so that the system does not collapse.
- “Only healthy people can have the will and strength to contribute to the growth and development of a nation’s economy.
- “Therefore, I call on well-meaning Nigerians, philanthropists, and non-governmental organisations to join hands with the government to improve the conditions of the health system in the nation, especially Oyo state. It is obvious that the government cannot handle it alone.”
The Chairman, Medical Advisory Council, University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, Dr. Abiodun Adeoye, stated that the brain drain in the health sector should be treated as a national emergency stressing the importance of the power of industrial harmony in the health sector towards boosting quality and robust healthcare in Nigeria.
Emeritus Prof. Oluwole Akande, a former Chief Medical Director, UCH, and chairman of the occasion, said that two factors were responsible for brain drain in the country. He identified them as pull and push factors, explaining that the pull factor encompasses the incentives being used by other countries to poach medical and health workers.
- “The push factor refers to conditions of service, unfriendly environment, inadequate funding and so on that have been forcing the experts to emigrate to other countries in search of greener pastures,” Akande said.
What you should know
- The economic hardship and insecurity have reshaped the labour market in Nigeria. Conversely, the ageing population and manpower shortage in the United Kingdom is also shaping the labour market, and Nigerians are leveraging on that.
- Nigerian Nurses moving to the UK as Internationally Registered Cancer Specialist Nurse will be paid £25,655 to £29,500 per year for a new, permanent role. The nurses must be experienced in any of the following specialities: Paediatric, Haematology, Oncology, Haematology, Interventional Radiology, Theatre Scrub, and Anaesthetic Scrub, which contributes to Nigeria’s brain rain