Nigeria Needs 10 Years to Replace 500 Migrating Doctors, Says MDCAN

Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano

The President of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Prof. Aminu Muhammad, on Sunday, alerted the nation that it would take Nigeria 10 years to replace 500 migrating doctors who left the country in search of greener pastures.

Muhammad, who spoke against the backdrop of findings by the association from 50 out of 80 chapters confirmed that no fewer than 500 medical personnel have left the shore of the country to the outside world.

He lamented that the alarming exodus of specialists out of the country painted a dark future for the health sector.

He stressed that statistics available to them showed that more than 500 medical doctors and consultants have migrated out of the country in search of greener pastures elsewhere.

Muhammad was answering questions from reporters shortly after he read a communique of the Biennial Delegates meeting of the association held in Kano.

According to him, Nigeria has continued to produce the finest and highest numbers of clinical expert graduates and postgraduates in sub-Saharan Africa, who are currently breaking records the world over.

The communique read: “Medical education is under threat, mainly due to the largest number of specialists and trainers migrating to other climes.

“The challenges of brain drain in the health sector have remained unabated with the migration of highly skilled health care professionals not only out of Africa but, also to neighbouring West Africa.”

The communique has called for a synergy between teaching hospitals, universities and regulatory bodies which has contributed to the failure to optimize the potential for increasing the quality of medical students.

Similarly, the communique urged the government to organize all stakeholders towards revamping Nigeria’s healthcare system through the provision of affordable and accessible healthcare delivery in the country.

“Government is urged to, as a matter of urgency, provide holistic solutions to the challenges of brain drain, which should include an incentive that encourages retaliation of the already depleted health care human resources in Nigeria,” he said.