Buhari’s administration urges doctors, nurses and others to stay in Nigeria and pledges to improve working conditions.
The federal government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, has urged medical professionals to stay in Nigeria and given assurances that steps are being taken to stop the brain drain.
In an interview with reporters on Monday at the Federal Medical Center in Ebute Meta, Lagos, Minister of State for Health Joseph Ekumankama.
He opened the Ultra-Modern Theatre, Molecular Building Complex, Oxygen Gas Plant, Clinical Training Centre, and Orthopedic and Trauma Center.
Recall that between December 2021 and May 2022, no fewer than 727 medical professionals with Nigerian training moved to the UK.
According to information about the number of foreign physicians practising in the UK that was retrieved from the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom website.
After Pakistan and India, the data revealed that Nigeria has the third-highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK.
8,983 Nigerian-trained doctors were employed in the UK as of November 2021.
The government’s alleged inability to implement the payment of hazard allowance to physicians and other categories of health workers is the cause of this enormous migration of healthcare professionals.
However, the Medical Association of Nigeria (MAN) had issued a warning that, given the current state of affairs, more Nigerian doctors would be leaving the nation, further eroding the already precarious situation of Nigeria’s health system.
Ekumankama has acknowledged that the widespread transfer of health professionals was problematic and concerning.
The doctor or nurse leaving the country is the sector’s biggest problem right now, he said.
The minister pleaded with them to stay in Nigeria so they could witness the achievements of the administration.
“As a sacrifice, I urge them to remain and assist us in reviving the healthcare industry. With what is happening right now in this hospital, we have seen that today,” he remarked.
Ekumankama noted that during the previous three years, the administration released the entire funding for health care.
