The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has ascribed poor remuneration and inadequate health facilities, and among other factors, as the major reasons for mass movement of medical doctors from the country.
The FCT Chapter’s NMA Chairman, Dr Ekpe Phillips, made the disclosure at the opening ceremony of the Annual Health Week of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in Abuja.
Brain drain of doctors is a lingering pandemic in Nigeria as more doctors move out of the country in search of better and conducive working environment.
The massive exodus of medical doctors out of the shores of the country call for concern and concerted action to address the lingering challenges prompting doctors movement.
Dr. Philips in his speech described the pay package of doctors as poor, stressing the need for increment in remuneration package for doctors by the government to address the challenge.
He also noted with displeasure that many doctors who left the country to take up foreign appointment did so due to inadequate facilities among other factors.
He listed mass unemployment, lack of placement for residency faced by a high proportion of medical professionals in Nigeria as other factors.
Phillips said Nigeria is losing doctors to foreign countries, adding that Nigerian doctors are leaving the country for greener pastures and the workload is becoming too much on the doctors that stay.
He added “We hear doctors collapsing because the workload is too much because their colleagues have left to find a greener gesture. We have internal and international brain drain; Nigeria now has one doctor catering for 5,000 patients instead of one doctor to 600 patients.
Dr Philips said “Brain drain is now becoming pandemic and sad news because government did not and still is not doing enough; there is no serious commitment to stemming this syndrome. Nigeria which was one of the richest 50 countries in the early 70s has metro greased to become one of the 25 poorest countries in the World today,’’
Speaking on the same issue, President of Association of Residents Doctors, FCT chapter, Dr Michael Olarewaju in his speech said that brain drain was a massive problem to Nigeria’s health system.
He said that if the problem is not properly tackled in the next two to three years there would not be enough doctors to treat patients in the country.
He observed that initially, the problem in the sector was strike by health workers “but now they are not going on strike but are exiting the country’’.