NGF Worried Over Alarming Rate of Brain Drain
The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), is worried about the high rate at which medical doctors migrate from Nigeria to countries like the United Kingdom annually due to brain drain.
Chairman of the Forum and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire.
Mr Tambuwal also urged the federal government to ramp up the drive for the realisation of the 25% needed to ensure universal healthcare coverage for all Nigerians under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF).
This was contained in a statement sent to journalists by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mohammed Bello.
Many organisations have raised concerns over the brain drain while Nigeria suffers from insufficient doctors and has a doctor-patient ratio – over five times worse than the WHO recommendation.
Some Nigerian officials have said at least 5,600 Nigerian medical doctors have migrated to the UK in the last eight years. And data from the development Research and Project Centre (dRPC) has shown that between 2019 and mid-2022, at least 4,460 nurses migrated from Nigeria to the UK.
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The Governors, Mr Tambuwal said, are desirous of building a resilient healthcare platform committed to routine immunisation and total eradication of polio, in collaboration with global and local partners, their efforts will come to nought if the alarming trend continues unchecked.
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“There are challenges but a lot has been achieved, particularly in the effort to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic,” he told the minister. “But we are witnessing brain drain over the years. It is alarming. And, I believe it has something to do with the welfare of the medical personnel. I urge the federal government to do something about this urgently.”
While he commended the federal government for the initiative of setting up the BHCPF, the governor said it is important that the momentum of making the fund realisable is not slowed down.
He also assured the minister of transparency and accountability in the management of the fund by states and that disbursement by the Forum will be based on the performance of the recipient states.
On his part, Mr Ehanire said the government is also worried about the issue of brain drain. He said 3,000 medical doctors graduate annually in the country and about 1,000 of them leave the country every year.
He said while the federal government is trying to create more space to employ these personnel despite demands for higher remuneration, those who are less likely to stay back in the country, and for whom the incentive to do so is abysmal, are experienced consultants.
