Buhari’s government begs doctors, nurses, others to remain in Nigeria, promises better working conditions

 

The federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has appealed to health practitioners to remain in Nigeria and assured that measures are being deployed to address the brain drain in the country.

Minister of State for Health, Joseph Ekumankama spoke with reporters on Monday at the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, Lagos.

He inaugurated the Orthopedic and Trauma Centre, Molecular Building Complex, Oxygen gas plant, Clinical Training Centre, and Ultra-Modern Theatre.

Recall, that no fewer than 727 medical doctors trained in Nigeria relocated to the United Kingdom between December 2021 and May 2022.

This is according to data obtained from the website of the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom on the number of foreign doctors working in the UK.

The data showed that Nigeria is the country with the third highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK, coming behind only India and Pakistan.

As of November 2021, 8,983 Nigerian-trained doctors were working in the UK.

The reason for this mass exodus of health practitioners is said to be the failure of the government to implement the payment of hazard allowance to medical doctors and other categories of health workers.

The Medical Association of Nigeria (MAN) had, however, warned that with the look of things, more Nigerian doctors would be finding their way out of the country which will continue to dwindle the poor state of Nigeria’s health sector.

Meanwhile, Ekumankama has admitted that the mass relocation of health personnel was a problem and was worrisome.