2,000 Medical Personnel Have Left Nigeria In 2 Years – Provost

Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Federal University of Lokoja, Prof. Michael Ozovehe Ogirima, said successful the past 2 years, implicit 2,000 aesculapian unit person near the state for greener pastures overseas.

He made this known yesterday during the 32nd inaugural lecture, “Improvising To Greatness—The Surgeon’s Sojourn,” astatine the instauration successful Lokoja.

The orthopaedic surgeon stressed that the cumulative concern successful acquisition and wellness is inactive acold from the expected UNICEF and WHO/AU benchmarks of 26% and 15% of yearly budgets, respectively.

Ogirima noted that backing probe activities to acceptable up probe laboratories astatine the section level is Herculean. Without molecular inquests successful aesculapian research, much probe grants are not casual to travel by these days.

His words, “Brain drain is simply a phenomenal occupation of the decade. Medical academics are leaving the state successful droves. This is not constricted to young ones but besides to aged and experienced hands. It is costing the authorities a immense magnitude of money. This cohabits with a precocious complaint of aesculapian tourism.

“The teaching hospitals are not adequately funded oregon supervised. There is comparative neglect due to the fact that they beryllium to the Ministry of Health, portion the assemblage is nether the NUC/Ministry of Education. We, the objective staff, are caught successful betwixt 2 poorly funded supervisors’ treble jeopardy. The patients, being our obedient ‘guinea pigs’ cannot beryllium subjected to risky experiments without ethical issues,” helium said.

Prof. Ogirima, therefore, recommended that TETFUND’s interventions beryllium extended to teaching hospitals, which are the grooming and probe centres for aesculapian and postgraduate students.

“However, if this is not possible, a peculiar aesculapian acquisition spot money should beryllium implemented to attraction dor our poorly equipped wellness centres. There is simply a request to enforce assorted existing policies connected wellness security and societal payment schemes for the institutions and the vulnerable.

“The authorities is encouraged to found much specialised universities, arsenic determination is ever competitory backing among assorted assemblage programmes. The aesculapian programmes are costly to tally and the inclination for neglect and underfunding exists. It is recommended that the aesculapian acquisition of immoderate assemblage should person betwixt 30 percent to 40 percent of the yearly superior fund of that institution.

“Clustering of aesculapian colleges whitethorn beryllium indispensable to marque disposable the fewer aesculapian teachers successful the state accessible to students done the utilisation of ICT and e-learning facilities and Al AI-assisted tools. A aesculapian assemblage could truthful beryllium affiliated with galore teaching hospitals and well-equipped backstage hospitals,” the provost said.