The Nigerian House of Representatives has made headlines due to a law that seeks to prevent medical physicians from exploring greener pastures less than five years after graduating from medical school.
The parliament’s action was taken in response to the recent migration of medical doctors.
Brain drain has become a major issue in Nigeria’s health industry, with the country losing a large number of healthcare workers to other countries.
This impending crisis has overloaded government officials, and there is no plan in place to deal with it comprehensively.
According to the World Health Organization, Nigeria has a doctor-patient ratio that is more than five times lower than the organization’s recommendation.
The DAILY POST said that the country loses hundreds of doctors each year due to brain drain, the most of whom go to the United Kingdom (UK).
According to health officials, over the previous eight years, at least 5,600 Nigerian medical doctors have migrated to the United Kingdom (UK).
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) stated in August 2022 that a total collapse of the health sector is likely unless immediate efforts are done to address the sector’s brain drain.
The association called for an immediate solution, noting that given the current trend of medical doctors leaving the nation, there may be a need in the future to engage doctors from other countries.
Dr. Victor Makanjuola, National President of the Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria, MDCAN, reported earlier this year that over 500 medical consultants have left the country in the last two years.
“This figure is as of March last year; so it is far more than that,” Makanjuola said at an Association National Executive Committee meeting in Enugu.
“We are not where we are supposed to be,” he added, “we are faced with poor budgetary allocation, poor infrastructure, a lack of incentives leading to brain-drain, and a challenge of power generation and distribution in most of our facilities.”
“It has become difficult for administrators to keep the facilities running smoothly and provide citizens with efficient medical care.”
In addition, in October of last year, the Kaduna State Chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, issued an urgent call for action to halt the continuous brain drain of medical personnel in Kaduna State.
According to the group, over 10,000 doctors have left Nigeria for greener pastures in the previous seven years, a troubling trend.
Similarly, governors from the thirty-six states represented by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, raised worry late last year about the frequency of brain drain in the health sector.
Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Governor of Sokoto State and Chairman of the Forum, expressed the forum’s concerns when he met with Dr. Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health, in Abuja.
“Over the years, we’ve seen a brain drain. It’s concerning, and I believe it has something to do with medical personnel’s safety.
“I implore the federal government to act immediately,” Tambuwal stated.
WHO classified 55 countries, including Nigeria, as having the most pressing workforce concerns connected to Universal Health Coverage in March of this year.
Following the development, the United Kingdom added Nigeria and 53 other nations to the red list of countries where health and social care firms should not actively seek to hire.
