The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has said unless the ongoing trend of medical and dental practitioners leaving the country is promptly reversed, Nigeria is on the verge of a significant crisis in the health sector.

The association made this known in a communique issued at the end of its NEC meeting in Abuja on Monday and signed by the association’s President, Uche Ojinmah, and the Secretary-General, Jide Onyekwelu.

The association expressed concerns over the mass exodus of health workers to developed countries and its negative effect on Nigeria’s health system.

It said to halt this devastating medical brain drain, governments at all levels must as a matter of urgency provide better working environment for the practice of medicine/dentistry, and pay better and more competitive remuneration.

It said the government must also show “better political commitment to health and prioritise healthcare provision in their scales of preference, provide robust access to social amenities and upgrade decaying utilities, rejig national security architecture for the safety of all citizens, and provide increased gainful employment opportunities for doctors.”

Brain Drain

The exodus of healthcare professionals, especially doctors, pharmacists, and nurses to developed countries has been on the increase.

With a doctor-patient ratio over five times worse than the WHO recommendation, Nigeria has continued to lose hundreds of doctors annually to brain drain, a large number of them to the UK. Various statistics show that over 5,000 Nigerian medical doctors have migrated to the UK between 2015 and 2022.

Data documented by the development Research and Project Centre (dRPC), shows that in 2015, 233 Nigerian doctors moved to the UK; in 2016 the number increased to 279; in 2017 the figure was 475, in 2018, the figure rose to 852, in 2019 it jumped to 1,347; in 2020, the figure was 833 and in 2021, it was put at 932.

The continued emigration of health practitioners has led to a shortage of skilled health workers in the country, which has negatively affected the quality of healthcare services provided to the citizens.

Other burning issues

The association also expressed great worry over various attacks and kidnapping of health workers from their workplaces and other places.

It also frowned at the inability of governments at all levels to effectively check security lapses and the ravaging incidence of kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry and extra-judicial killing of Nigerians.

The communique reads in part: “The NEC expressed great worry at the fact that despite the tremendous efforts being made by health care workers to deliver health care services to Nigerians, they were still violently assaulted and kidnapped in their workplaces and other places.

“The NEC also seriously frowned at the inability of governments at all levels to effectively check security lapses and the ravaging incidence of kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry and extra-judicial killing of Nigerians.”

The association’s NEC also noted that despite considerable efforts, progress towards UHC targets in Nigeria has been slow.

It said the delayed progress towards UHC is further threatened by shifts in demography, transitioning of disease burden, reduction in development assistance for health, and poor domestic health finance.

It noted as unacceptable, the current situation where about 80 per cent of Nigerians pay out-of-pocket for their medical expenses and insurance.

The NEC stated that health insurance holds the capacity to provide solutions to accessible, affordable, and sustainable healthcare delivery for Nigerians.

It urged the government to take practical steps to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for individuals seeking healthcare by expanding social health insurance schemes, providing subsidies or cash transfers for vulnerable populations, and exploring mechanisms to negotiate fair and affordable drug prices while strengthening its local pharmaceutical production sector.