April 14, (THEWILL) – The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate recently said that 16,000 Nigerian medical doctors left the country in the last five to seven years in search of better prospects in other countries.
The Minister did not only raise the alarm over a dangerous situation but also stated a fact. All is not well with the healthcare system in Nigeria, partly due to the unbridled Exodus of skilled healthcare professionals.
Speaking at Seventh Annual Capacity-Building Workshop of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa in Abuja last Tuesday, Prof Pate also said the constant movements had affected the doctor-population ratio, which is now 3.9 per 10,000, while the estimated cost of training one doctor is about 21,000 US dollars.
Sometimes last year, the same minister had told the nation that only 55,000 doctors remained in Nigeria’s system to attend to a population of over 200 million. This is alarming, no doubt.
This may not be the first time that Nigerians have been made aware of the true situation of the healthcare system, but the acceleration of migrations by doctors and nurses is quite distressing and gives cause for concern. Such migrations, as the Minister pointed out, reflects huge financial losses that the country incurs on a regular basis, affects the healthcare system and leaves many rural communities critically underserved.
Nigerian Doctors have often complained of poor remuneration. In fact, the Nigeria Medical Association, in one of its meetings in the past, complained that the average monthly salary for doctors in the country was significantly low, compared to other countries, despite the demanding nature of their work.
The times are hard in Nigeria at the moment and the rising cost of living, in addition to low salaries, makes it quite difficult for doctors to maintain a decent standard of living.
Limited availability of specialised positions and career advancement opportunities within Nigeria’s healthcare system also discourages doctors from staying in the country. Additionally many Nigerian hospitals lack adequate equipment, facilities and infrastructure, all of which render the work environment for doctors challenging and stressful.
Prolonged shortage of medical staff places a burden on doctors who remain in the country, leading to increased workload and burnout.
Also, no medical doctor worth his salt will want to work under such limiting conditions as have been mentioned above. We think it is high time the Federal Government took the necessary steps to address the problems causing the exodus of healthcare professionals in the country. As they say, a healthy nation is a wealthy nation, but certainly not a nation that keeps losing its doctors and nurses to other countries.
