For a few years, Nigeria has been battling with mind drain, popularly known as ‘japa,’ with the well being sector being one of many worst hit.
It took a disturbing dimension on the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nigeria’s well being sector, in a precarious state of poor remuneration, poor working situations and lack of alternatives for profession development, drives certified well being professionals emigrate to different nations.
Frequent industrial actions by well being staff urgent for higher remuneration and welfare packages have for years strained Nigeria’s public well being companies on the federal and state ranges, at the same time as many well being amenities throughout the nation are in poor situations because of dilapidated infrastructure.
The trail to reversing Nigeria’s well being sector ‘japa’ syndrome is a herculean activity that requires multifaceted methods, insurance policies, funding, and an enabling atmosphere.
Official statistics from the Federal Ministry of Well being point out that the nation has misplaced no fewer than 16,000 docs to mind drain prior to now 5 years.
In keeping with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), the nation has solely 55,000 licensed docs to serve its over 200 million inhabitants.
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This implies a ratio of 1 physician to about 4,000 sufferers, which is much beneath the WHO’s beneficial ratio of 1:600.
Along with the exodus of docs, about 75,000 nurses have left the nation since 2017, in keeping with the Nationwide Affiliation of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, leaving the ratio at one nurse to 1,160 sufferers within the nation.
Extra so, the affiliation stated about 15,000 nurses left Nigeria in 2022 to take up jobs overseas.
The rising variety of expert professionals looking for alternatives overseas has led to Nigeria being one of many 55 nations with a extreme scarcity of well being staff on the WHO Well being Workforce Help and Safeguard Listing 2023.
The pattern, in keeping with WHO, compromises the supply of high quality healthcare companies and threatens the nation’s potential to attain health-related Sustainable Growth Objectives.
Whereas it’s tough for the Nigerian authorities to cease this exodus of pros as doing so would possibly breach residents’ rights as vested within the nation’s structure, the continued mind drain is more and more changing into worrisome for the federal government.
Consequently, President Bola Tinubu accredited the Nationwide Coverage on Well being Workforce Migration to deal with the continued emigration of Nigerian well being staff.
Highlighting the importance of the coverage, the Coordinating Minister of Well being and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, described the coverage as a complete strategy to managing and reversing the migration of well being professionals.
In keeping with Mr Pate, the coverage will improve the administration of Nigeria’s well being workforce, enhance working situations, and supply higher rewards {and professional} progress alternatives.
However, Nigeria has witnessed the return of a few of its famend specialists in the previous couple of years and the bobbing up of extra specialised personal well being amenities comparable to Marcelle Ruth, Duchess Worldwide Hospital, Evercare Hospital, Bridge Clinic, First Cardiology Centre, Tristate Healthcare, amongst others.
Many of those specialists and centres are reshaping Nigeria’s well being panorama by delivering the best requirements of care, utilising superior know-how and coverings to offer sufferers the quickest and handy entry to medical experience.
Not too long ago, a Nigerian medical physician, Julius Oni, give up his job at Johns Hopkins within the US to return to Nigeria after 25 years.
Mr Oni, an Affiliate Professor of Orthopaedics, began DOC Medical Nigeria, which affords high-quality musculoskeletal care, saying Nigerian sufferers additionally deserve a top-notch healthcare system.
“Life as I knew it for 25 years has undoubtedly remodeled. Shifting again to Nigeria has been a gorgeous shift. Nevertheless, each locations maintain their very own magic.
“Life has modified, and so have I. I’m a extra fulfilled individual, dwelling my dream and objective.
“The years within the USA taught me many unimaginable issues together with resilience, and my time in Nigeria to this point jogs my memory of group, affect, and progress,” he stated.
On the potential of Nigeria reversing mind drain within the well being sector, Bala Audu, president of the Nigerian Medical Affiliation (NMA), stated that it’s possible.
In keeping with him, Nigeria is already reaching mind acquire as extra diasporan docs have indicated curiosity in returning with their experience and for funding to increase healthcare service supply.
“Nigeria is a commercially worthwhile vacation spot for medical tourism.
“Exploring its potential and driving insurance policies to actualise it needs to be intensified,” he stated.
Mr Audu underscores the necessity to facilitate enterprise within the well being sector by business-friendly laws and the enforcement of requirements throughout all ranges of healthcare.
In distinction, Jonathan Esegine, Lagos State Chairman of the Affiliation of Nigerian Non-public Medical Practitioners, confused that expertise and abilities would proceed emigrate to areas the place they’re appreciated, arguing that the push elements driving mind drain had but to alter.
“The push elements of poor working situations, the financial system, hyperinflation, corruption within the system, the poor remuneration, and the lengthy work hours which can be used to deal with docs as if they’re robots hasn’t improved.
“You’ve gotten heard the tales of docs collapsing and dying in current instances. You’ve gotten heard of docs that suffer from burnout. Some endure a number of psychological issues as a result of a median Nigerian resident physician works 106 and a half hours per week.
“How do you anticipate that type of physician to ship optimum apply or to perform with out making errors?
“There have additionally been circumstances of indignant relations of sufferers who assault well being staff whereas performing their duties. That’s the atmosphere during which we’re functioning.
“Numerous docs have been kidnapped and spent months and years in kidnappers’ dens.
“Till these points are addressed, we are able to’t document large mind acquire as a result of for each well being employee that returns, there are lots of and hundreds on the market ready and watching to see how conducive the atmosphere is,” Mr Esegine stated.
He beneficial that Nigeria may be taught from how India wooed again lots of its diasporan docs by giving them beneficial insurance policies, tax incentives, grants, and low-interest loans to arrange apply within the nation.
Equally, Aminu Indabawa, president of the Nigerian Diaspora Docs Affiliation (NDDA), famous that his members had been deeply patriotic towards their fatherland and needed to return residence to contribute their quota to its service and growth.
“Nevertheless, till the situations that made us depart the nation within the first place are utterly addressed, the willingness to return residence for service is sort of not possible.
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“The outdated and retiring who’ve reached the zenith of their careers overseas might want to return residence for investments fairly than for service.
“The vast majority of our members are younger and` hungry’ for sustenance and achievement,” he stated.
He known as for the revamping of the well being sector by insurance policies that present accessible, reasonably priced and high quality healthcare companies for all residents.
It isn’t but clear whether or not the measures being taken by the Nigerian authorities will stem well being staff’ exodus.
However as Africa’s most populous nation continues to make efforts in direction of retaining its well being professionals and attracting foreign-based ones, consultants say the majority of the answer lies inside the nation – bettering the situations of service, together with higher wages, improved welfare packages and medical amenities, in addition to patriotism in any respect ranges.
(NANFeatures)
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