The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: Brain drain

  • Brain drain: FG to hire Nigerian doctors abroad

    Brain drain: FG to hire Nigerian doctors abroad

    The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has said that to address the brain drain in the sector, the federal government is setting up a mechanism to engage Nigerian doctors and nurses in the diaspora and connect them with universities and hospitals in the country.

    Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the 17th edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) Administration” Scorecard Series (2015-2023), he lamented that experienced doctors were leaving the country.

    Ehanire said a lot of doctors and nurses in Nigeria felt they were not properly rewarded for the work they were doing.

    The minister said the federal government was trying to address the issue by improving the conditions of service for medical personnel.

    He, however, noted that there was high mobility of health workers globally and that Nigeria should not be seen as the only country affected.

    He said, “I was at a meeting where the minister of health of Gambia was complaining too that the doctors they have, some of them have left. I also spoke with authoritative in the UK who also complained that their doctors are going to Canada and New Zealand where their pay is better.

    “So they require lots of people because there is a high need in those countries. So mobility is global and not that we are doing something wrong but market forces working globally. The situation is the same in Turkey and Egypt.

    “So, we are trying to measure performance and let people be happy they are properly rewarded for what they have done.”

    “What we are also doing is to do what they call the conversion of brain drain to brain gain. We are doing that with a new mechanism that is being set up now to engage Nigerian doctors and nurses in the diaspora and connect them with universities and hospitals because modern technology makes it possible for somebody to be delivering lectures in New York and we have people here listening to it. So we can have those who are ready to transfer knowledge to do so.

    “Also, those who have to do surgery or see a patient can book periods during which they will come. So, they can be affiliated with a particular teaching hospital and come in with cutting-edge knowledge and skills to come here and pass this knowledge on.”

    Speaking further, the minister said the government was still vigilant and that there was a high level of preparedness at Nigeria’s entry points to prevent a fresh outbreak of COVID-19.

    He said, “The observed increase in the number of cases in China, USA and Europe is seasonal and it is not unexpected during the winter.

    “So, the recent relaxation also affects the rising in cases with the removal of travel restrictions.”

    (Daily Trust)

  • Buhari directs Health Minister to stop brain drain

    Buhari directs Health Minister to stop brain drain

    Worried by the mass exodus of Nigerian medical doctors abroad in search of greener pastures, President Muhamamdu Buhari has directed the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, to look into ways of ending the ugly trend.

    In the last six years, Nigeria have lost an estimated 10,000 doctors and professionals in the health sector to the US, UK, Canada and some European and Asian countries, especially in the aftermath of the outbreak of COVOD-19.

    President Buhari, who received the new executive members of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), in Abuja, yesterday, told officials of the union that he has directed the minister to turn the “brain drain” to “brain gain” by engaging top Nigerian medical experts in the diaspora in knowledge and skills repatriation.

    He also announced that the Federal Government has disbursed N100 billion to indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare investors as loans to expand their capital base, boost local production of medicines and medical consumables.

    He said the loan was extended through the Central Bank of Nigeria’s support to the local pharmaceutical sector.

    He said the Health Sector Reform Committee chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was exploring models for the revitalisation of the nation’s healthcare system in ways that improve quality of care and benefits to care providers.

    He urged the NMA and other stakeholders in the sector to support initiatives by the Federal Government to resuscitate the sector. He also urged them to work with committees set up to fast track the health system to meet the needs of Nigerians in the 21st Century.

    Buhari commended the NMA, which is the umbrella body of all medical practitioners in Nigeria, for consistently choosing peaceful resolution of differences on matters pertinent to the national health system.

    “I commend our medical professionals for their contribution to Nigeria’s exemplary management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the control of malaria, HIV and tuberculosis, and other feats also achieved by Nigerian doctors in the diaspora. Our response to COVID-19 pandemic has been praised internationally and your members are key parts of this success. I recall that in the last quarter of 2021, the immediate past NMA executives visited me and presented recommendations for the health sector.”

    He hailed former president of the body, Dr. Osahon Enabulele and President-elect of the World Medical Association, the first Nigerian to hold the position.

    Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, who led the medical practitioners to the audience, affirmed that the doctors had been good partners with his ministry.

    (Sun)