Wife of Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibironke Sanwo-Olu, says there is urgent need to put in place deliberate policies to address factors encouraging doctors to leave Nigeria in droves.
Sanwo-Olu made the call at the Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on Tuesday in Lagos.
Theme of the meeting was: “Brain Drain in the Medical Profession: Effects on the Nigerian Health System.”
According to her, the factors include adequate remuneration of doctors, provision of health equipment and infrastructure, as well as scaling up of the Health Insurance Scheme.
Sanwo-Olu said: “According to a survey in 2017 by Nigeria’s polling agency, NOI Polls, in partnership with Nigerian Health Watch, most Nigerian doctors seek to work abroad.
“As a matter of fact, it has also been established that out of the 72,000 doctors that are registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), over half practice outside Nigeria.
“About 70 to 80 per cent of doctors that graduated five to 10 years ago are already out of the country.
“If this ugly trend is not arrested, it will get to a point that we would not have the middle class experienced workers again to do the work.’’
The governor’s wife urged Lagosians to fully embrace the recently unveiled State Health Insurance Scheme.
“The scheme is a strategic policy designed to achieve affordable, comprehensive and unhindered quality healthcare services for all residents,’’ she advised.
Also, Dr Adetokunbo Fabamwo, the Keynote Speaker, said there was need for government to fund the nation’s health sector in order to address brain drain.
Fabamwo, who is the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, said: “The government should do somethings to keep the health workers at home.
“These include improving the wages in the health sector; give incentives to the health workers; there should be conducive working environment and expand the post-graduate training spots for young doctors.
“Majorly, the issue is funding; there is a National Health Act which has been put together and adopted, but which has not been implemented.
“Contained within the act are so many provisions that would have made the health sector very conducive that no young doctors would have thought of travelling out.
“One per cent of the consolidated revenue that is supposed to be used to revamp the health sector, if only this can be done, then, all other remedies can be achieved,’’ Fabamwo said.
In his remarks, the state NMA Chairman, Dr Saliu Oseni, said that brain drain had constituted a menace to healthcare delivery in the country with the emergence of alarming statistics recently.
Oseni said that brain drain has both positive and negative effects.
“But the negative effects are more overwhelming in our situation with immense consequences on medical manpower in relation to doctor to patient ratio.
“The resultant burden on doctors and health providers generally have contributed significantly to the maternal, infant and perinatal mortality figures.
“Also, the worsening health indices with eventual low life expectancy, 52.8 years in males and 55 years in females.
“Therefore, brain drain remains a topic that cannot be over discussed,’’ the NMA chairman said.
