The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has attributed poor remuneration and inadequate health facilities as some of the major reasons for mass exodus of medical doctors.
Dr Ekpe Phillips, the FCT Chapter NMA Chairman, said this at the opening of the Annual Health Week of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) on Wednesday in Abuja
Dr Ekpe Phillips, the FCT Chapter NMA Chairman, said this at the opening of the Annual Health Week of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) on Wednesday in Abuja
Phillips said Nigeria is losing doctors to foreign countries, adding that Nigerian doctors are leaving the country for greener pastures and the workload is becoming too much on the doctors that stay.
Phillips described the medical payments package in Nigeria as poor, highlighting the need for the government to increase the compensation of doctors to face the challenge.
He noted that many doctors who left the country to take a foreign appointment did so due to inadequate facilities among other factors.
He enumerated mass unemployment, lack of residential placement faced by a large proportion of medical professionals in Nigeria as other factors.
Phillips said Nigeria is losing doctors to foreign countries, adding that Nigerian doctors are leaving the country for greener pastures and that workload is doing too much for the remaining doctors.
“We hear doctors collapsing because the workload is too much because their colleagues have left to find a greener gesture.
“We have internal and international brain drain; Nigeria now has one doctor catering for 5,000 patients instead of one doctor to 600 patients.
“Brain drain is now becoming pandemic and sad news because government did not and still is not doing enough; there is no serious commitment to stemming this syndrome.
“Nigeria which was one of the richest 50 countries in the early 70s has retrogressed to become one of the 25 poorest countries in the World today,’’ he said.
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