BRAIN DRAIN IN THE NIGERIAN HEALTH SECTOR – WAY FORWARD BY FANIYI AKINWALE

The sudden disappearance of health care professionals has deteriorated the health sector. Many analysts and public health experts have explained that the lapse is due to poor economic policies and development which has lead to poor funding of the health sector most especially in 2018 . This has sunk the Nigeria sector into a state of quagmire. Medical professionals are then trying to find their way outside the country where they feel their professional skills would be appreciated. The health care bodies have wanted to prevent this by coercing and coaxing the government to invest in the health sector so as to encourage the health practitioners and also improve the health system of the country without which health care delivery would be in total disarray.


       Furthermore, the emigration of medical personnel from Nigeria is not unconnected to the prevailing severe economic recession, hyper inflation, poor drug disbursement to primary health care centre, poor power supply amongst many others which has lead to the quackery practice amidst medical practitioners in the length and breadth of Nigeria. Recently, the minister of labour, Chris Ngige was saying that there’s nothing wrong with doctors leaving the country as the country has enough medical personnels. Statistics from the World Health Organization, showed that as of 2013, there were 3.8 doctors for every 10,000 Nigerians, far below the Organizations’ recommendation of one doctor to 600 patients. Recent data from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria also showed that as of December 2017, Nigeria had 39,912 registered medical doctors. This means with a population of 193 million in 2016, there was just one medical doctor for every 4,845 Nigerians reducing the effectiveness of doctors. In fact it was reported that less than one-third of medical doctors practice in Nigeria while the remaining two-third are doing great and making records in Diaspora and where the problem lies is that the government couldn’t see it as problem and they keep spending money for treatment abroad.
   
       Meanwhile, the government has to see this as a problem that is needed to be addressed urgently. The government should provide great incentives for the health care practitioners to encourage them, adequate power supply to hospital, insurances for the masses to cover their health bills, well equipped hospitals and research laboratories. In fact there should be PCR laboratory investigation in all Federal hospitals, provision of Internship placements and job opportunities for health practitioners. I read that a bill was passed on centralized internship for health practitioners of which that would reduce the stress of looking for placement all over the country though it’s still yet to be implemented.


        Lastly, the government should embark on some health policies like revolving drug funds where drug would be purchased at a price that can be affordable by the community and sold at slightly higher price such that the profit is invested into the health care plan thereby having adequate drug supply in our primary health centers and hospital. If the government could embark on this project it would encourage our health care practitioners in Diaspora to come home and invest in their health sector.

FANIYI Akinwale John
                                                              YALI, RLC ALUMNI