Combat Brain Drain With Incentives - Medical Consultants Urge Nigerian Government

The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has urged the federal government to implement incentives aimed at retaining health workers within the country.

Speaking after the conclusion of the association’s biennial delegates meeting (DDM) in Kano, Muhammad Aminu Muhammed, President of MDCAN, emphasized the need for immediate action to address the ongoing “brain drain” of healthcare professionals from Nigeria.

Muhammed disclosed that a survey conducted by the association two years ago, encompassing less than 50 percent of its chapters, revealed that approximately 500 patient doctors had left Nigeria. He warned that replacing the expertise and experience lost due to the departure of these medical personnel would take up to a decade.

“These were professional doctors involved in teaching and nurturing new generation in medical and also training specialists,” he said. “This migration still continues at an alarming rate.”

Reading the communique, Muhammed said the Nigerian healthcare system faces myriad challenges, including poor financing, brain drain, and inadequate healthcare facilities.

The MDCAN president said the government should organize all the necessary stakeholders towards revitalization and revamping Nigeria’s healthcare system.

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

“Teaching and clinical roles as medical and dental specialists are crucial to the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Nigeria.

“The country has continued to produce the finest and highest numbers of clinical experts in sub-Saharan Africa, with our graduates at the basic and postgraduate levels breaking records worldwide.

“Medical education is under threat, mainly due to the large number of specialists and trainers migrating to other climes.

“A number of universities presently have less training quota than the manpower and infrastructure in the institution can effectively train.

“The government is urged to, as a matter of urgency, provide holistic solutions to the challenges of brain drain, which should include incentives that encourage retention of the already depleted healthcare human resource in Nigeria.”