Nigerian Doctors Migration Hits Over 900 Annually
As Doctor/Patient Ratio Worsens. Says Ibrahim Police Affairs Minister.
The mass exodus of medical personnel from Nigeria to abroad has risen to over nine hundred, a development that has affected the doctor-patient ratio over five times worse than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.
Disclosing this at the first International Conference of the Center for Migration Studies Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka the Minister of State for Police Affairs Imaan Suleiman Ibrahim noted that;
“The continuous migration of Nigerians especially of young people and skilled population has a significant impact including loss of trained and skilled professionals. As the Nigerian Medical Association has expressed concerns, the doctor-patient ratio is over five times worse than the WHO recommendations as Nigeria has continued to lose hundreds of doctors annually to brain drain ”
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“Reports by the Development Research and Project Center (dRPC) show 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, dropped to 833 due to Covid 19, in 2020 and rose again to 932 in 2021,” she said
Chief Of Staff to Gov Charles Soludo Chief Earnest Ezajughi noted that most young Nigerians wish to leave the country without anything focused on what they are going to do adding that most of them are unskilled and are risking their lives just to make ends meet.
He however noted that the administration of Gov Charles Soludo is aimed at replicating those opportunities Nigerians are going abroad in search of adding that at the end of the day there shall be an enabling environment for any focused Nigerian youths to actualize his or her ambition without checking out of the country.
In his lead paper on Globalization Migration And Nation Building the Director of Marquette University “‘s Lonergan Project Dr Joseph Ogbonnaya said;
“We have enslaved colonized our resources stolen, granted political independence and our hopes are dashed by several factors that had affected us”
“We check out of Nigeria because of hardship and lack of opportunities and this is brought about by bad leadership and thievery political politicians ‘
“It is important for the Nigerian government to put in place reforms that will stabilize and secure the country to make Nigerians proud of their country and not risk their lives going through the desert paying evil gangs to cross them over other countries,” he said.
Speaking earlier the Director of the Center For Migration Studies Prof Tracie Utal Ezajughi noted that since five years the Center was established it has been involved in collaboration and partnership at international and Country levels of engagement.
She explained that major partners of the Center include the Swiss Embassy, N CFRMI, GIZ, ILO, IOM, CSO net MADE, and the University of Alberta Canada adding that the Central now awards PhD certificates.
Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Prof Charles Esimone noted that the essence of the conference is to expose the Nigerian youths to the real picture of what is obtainable in the process of going to another country urging participants to go a step further in encouraging them to think in ward before taking such a strong position in life.
