NMA Warns Nigeria Might Have To Import Doctors In Future Due To Brain Drain

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has warned that the nation’s skyrocketing brain drain wave may culminate in the country resorting to hiring medical doctors to treat local patients in the future.

The NMA also warned that if urgent steps were not taken to fix the deteriorating situation, it may lead to total collapse of the health system in the country.

The Oyo State NMA Chairman, Dr. Ayotunde Fasunla, raised the alarm in Ibadan on Tuesday, August 16, at the official opening of the 2022 scientific conference, titled: ‘National Health Authority Act – The Sound Bites’.

The event has a sub-theme: ‘Industrial Harmony in the Health Sector – A Necessity for Health Sector Growth.”

The body also called for a state of emergency in the health sector with a view to holistically addressing the menace of pull and push factors, responsible for the mass migration of health personnel to Europe, America, the Middle East, and other African countries.

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Fasunla stated further that the poor state of the government-owned hospitals in the country was largely due to poor funding.

He noted that the budgetary allocation to the health sector in 2022 was approximately 4.2 percent of the national budget.

According to him, the figure falls significantly below the recommendation of the African Union (AU) at the Abuja Declaration of a minimum of 15 percent. The situation, he said, was worse at the state level.

He said: “The infrastructure deficit is such that some of our hospitals spend a significant amount of their internally generated revenues on diesel to ensure power supply.

“There is the scarcity of funds to apply for equipment upgrade, manpower development or even recruitment of new staff.

“Many of our hospitals are grossly under-staffed. Even the process of replacing migrating staff is bogged down by a rigid and insensitive government bureaucracy.

“It is our plea to the government to commit more funds to the health sector so that the system does not collapse.

“Only healthy people can have the will and strength to contribute to the growth and development of a nation’s economy.

“Therefore, I call on well-meaning Nigerians, philanthropists, and non-governmental organisations to join hands with the government to improve the conditions of the health system in the nation, especially in Oyo state. It is obvious that the government cannot handle it alone.”