Brain Drain: Guild Urges FG to Stem Tide, Emulate Advanced Nations

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The Guild of Medical Directors (GMD), has identified poor working conditions, weak infrastructure, poor reward and remuneration of health workers as the reasons Nigeria is losing hundreds of healthcare personnel to brain drain.

The GMD noted that the solutions to mitigate or reverse brain drain among healthcare workers in Nigeria must be practical and adopt a systemic approach just as practiced by developed nations.

The guild disclosed this in a communique that was signed by the President of GMD, Dr. Raymond Kuti, at the end of its annual general meeting with the theme: “Human Resource Management for Healthcare: Challenges, Strategies and Opportunities.” 

The guild also highlighted limited career opportunities for advancement, lack of performance-based promotion, pervasive challenging political climate, insecurity, and lack of adherence to the Commonwealth Code of Practice for International Recruitment of Health Workers as among the factors that are making it easy for other countries to recruit Nigerian medical professionals with impunity.

Kuti said that innovative approaches to increase the pool of health workers available should be explored, which would include the elimination of roadblocks (such as licensing of doctors) that discourage mid-level doctors from coming back to Nigeria for short stints or short periods.

The GMD also urged the government at all levels to create a safe and enabling environment, including provision of generous incentives that will make it attractive for doctors and other health workers who have left the country to desire to come back home.

 Kuti said the GMD “will engage with the government and all stakeholders in the implementation of the WHO policy that frowns at advanced countries poaching healthcare workers from developing nations.

He said: “Promote multilateral negotiations between Nigeria and the key countries where doctors and other health workers emigrate to in order to secure controlled emigration on more profitable terms for the country. For example the Philippines model.

“Resuscitation of an abandoned exchange program that allowed residents and other cadres of health workers to go overseas for a specified period for specialised training and then come back to give back.”