THE Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has said that it would take the country about 10 years to replace the vacuum left behind by medical personnel who have left the country for greener pastures.
This was just as the body added that just about two years ago, information available revealed that no fewer than 500 medical personnel had migrated out of the country.
The newly elected President of MDCAN, Professor Muhammad Aminu Muhammed, disclosed this to pressmen on Sunday in Kano after reading the communique issued at the end of the Biennial Delegates Meeting ( DDM) of the MDCAN held at the Efficient Event Centre Kano.
Prof. Muhammad stated that “in a survey conducted two years ago, which is an objective result from only less than 50 per cent of the chapters that we have and responded to we found out that about 500 patient Doctors had left the country.
“These were professional doctors involved in teaching and nurturing new generation in medical and also training specialist noting that this migration still continues at an alarming rate,” he said
He however disclosed that “if there is no improvement in the current condition, in terms of emoluments, working condition, security aspect, it would be very difficult to prevent people from migrating out of the country”
However, in the communique read before the newsmen, Prof. Muhammad said “Nigerian healthcare system is facing a myriad of challenges that include poor financing, brain drain, inadequate healthcare facilities, obsolete equipment, and poor and inadequate insurance coverage.
“The challenges of brain drain in the health sector have remained unabated with the migration of highly skilled healthcare professionals not only out of Africa but also to the neighbouring West African countries.
“Teaching and clinical roles as medical and dental specialists are crucial to the attainment of Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria.
“The country has continued to produce the finest and highest numbers of clinical experts in sub-Saharan Africa, with our graduates both at the basic and postgraduate levels breaking records worldwide.
“Medical Education is under threat, mainly due to the large numbers of specialists and trainers migrating to other climes. A number of universities presently have less training quota than the manpower and infrastructure in the institution can effectively train.
“Reading some solutions to the myriad of challenges the body is facing, Prof Muhammad said that the Government should organize all the necessary stakeholders towards revitalization and revamping of Nigeria’s healthcare system for the provision of affordable and accessible healthcare delivery in the country.”
The Government is urged to, as a matter of urgency, provide holistic solutions to the challenges of brain drain, which should include incentives that encourage retention of the already depleted health care human resource in Nigeria.
