Doctors in Nigeria
Health

Brain Drain : Nigeria To Employ Expartriate Doctors, Says Medical Guild

105

 

By Kunle Akinsola

Following massive brain drain that has hit the nation’s health sector, Nigeria will need to employ expartrate medical doctors to mitigate its effects on the county’s citizens, according to the Medical Guild.

The Vice-Chairman of Lagos Medical Guild, Dr Oluwajimi Sodipo, said at  a media briefing in Lagos that the situation in the health sector required urgent government intervention.

“If the brain drain is not urgently discouraged, the country might resort to `importing’ medical professionals to address the shortage,’’ he said.

As a first step, Sodipo called for incentives that would discourage brain drain among health workers.

On the Primary Health Care (PHC) system, he said the centres in the local governments across the country have become redundant and poorly funded.

He said the Federal Government should make the funds allocated for PHCs to be more accessible.

Persecondnews recalls that the late Minister of Health, Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, had inaugurate PHC under the Ibrahim Babangida military administration, a model which received global acclamation.

“Local governments should take PHCs as a priority especially with their attainment of autonomy.

“We need to start scrutinising the operations of the local governments to ensure they contribute their quotas to healthcare delivery in the country,” Sodipo said.

Sodipo added that all tiers of government should collaborate to find the right funding, operational model and management that would improve healthcare delivery.

The Chairman of the Guild, Dr Babajide Saheed, urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency toward revitalising the health sector.

He noted that 59 years after Nigeria’s Independence, its health sector had deteriorated resulting in medical tourism.

“In the past, people came from overseas to get medical treatment at the University College Hospital, Ibadan; but now, the reverse is the case. Government is not pumping money into the health sector.

“The Abuja Declaration on 15 per cent funding for the health sector is yet to be fulfilled.

“Quality health service delivery, not corruption, should be the focus of government because once a country does not get it right with its health and education systems, it has failed.

“The way emergency was declared in the security situation of the country, the same should be done for the health sector so that we can chart a way forward,” he said at the briefing.

Saheed said a functional primary healthcare system in the country was an effective way of addressing the nation’s health challenges.

He said: “We should follow it up with an effective secondary and tertiary care, the tertiary care will take care of medical tourism.

“Each region in the country should have hospitals for specialisation — like pediatric, cardiology — and we will not need to move out of the country.”

Saheed said stakeholders should agree on collective and common agenda that would deliver efficient, affordable and accessible healthcare services in the country.

Leave a comment

Related Articles

Fake, unwholesome products: NAFDAC seals 10 bakeries, 8 table water factories in Rivers

The National Agency for Food and Drug Control (NAFDAC) has shut down...

FG allocates N37.4 bn for six cancer centres, ready in two years

The Federal Government has approved N37.4 billion for the Federal Ministry of...

World TB Day: 70 percent of TB cases in Africa now being diagnosed and treated – WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has disclosed that about 70 percent of...

We committed $600m to health in Nigeria in 2023, says U.S. Govt.

The United States Government has disclosed that it has committed $20 billion...

Sachet alcoholic drinks now phased out, as NAFDAC begins  clampdown on producers, consumers

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says...

WHO predicts over 35m new global cancer cases by 2050

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer agency of...

NAFDAC alerts importers, healthcare providers to fake diabetes medication in circulation

The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has...

NAFDAC conducts laboratory investigation into alleged ‘poisonous’ plantain chips in Lagos

Aftermath of a viral social media post alleging a woman fried plantain...

Danger alert! LASG warns residents against consuming unhealthy fried plantain chips

The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) has alerted residents to alleged...

NAFDAC DG orders market survey, testing as fake paracetamol floods market

The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug and...

Borno youths drinking gin-soaked Lipton, 10-day-old human urine, others as drug alternatives, NDLEA raises alarm

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has raised alarm over new...

Rise in infectious diseases fueled by insecurity, poverty in 2023, WHO reveals

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has disclosed that the rise of infectious...

Use antibiotics only on doctors’ prescription, says consultant physician

A Consultant Physician and Clinical Pharmacologist at the College of Medicine, University...

Yuletide: NAFDAC uncovers 240 fake wines, fizzy drinks, others, factories in Abia

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NAFDAC) has uncovered factories in the...

Doctors discover bracelet and earphones among 150 objects inside man’s stomach

Doctors were in “shock” after removing earphones, a bracelet, nuts and bolts...

Outbreak of Diphtheria hits 18 states as FG confirms 7,202 cases, 453 deaths

The Federal Government has confirmed 7,202 cases of diphtheria out of the...

NSIA Outlines Aggressive Healthcare Expansion Plan As Authority’s Infrastructure Intervention Excites Reps Committee Chairman

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority on Monday received members of the House...

COVID-19: Nigeria receives $9.2m vaccination grant from Canadian Govt

In a bid to scale-up COVID-19 vaccine service delivery among high-priority risk...

Are ‘balloons’ the new drug epidemic in Nigeria?

They may look like the normal balloons you see at children’s birthday...