The Nigerian Medical Association has raised the alarm over the worsening migration of doctors from Nigeria, revealing that some medical students now plan to leave the country even before completing their training.
The NMA President, Prof. Afekhide-Ernest Omoti, disclosed this while responding to inquiries from Sunday PUNCH, warning that the trend poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s already overstretched healthcare system.
Omoti said the situation had become so entrenched that some Nigerian medical students were already preparing for foreign qualifying examinations before completing their studies, with plans to relocate soon after obtaining professional registration.
According to him, many young doctors begin writing foreign examinations during their internship so they can leave the country immediately after completing the registration process.
“The Nigerian medical student, even before he graduates, is already planning how to leave the country because he’s seen what is ahead of him, that there is no future ahead,” he said.
The NMA president said the trend must be urgently reversed by creating conditions that would give young doctors confidence in building their careers in Nigeria.
He disclosed that the association had submitted a proposal for a minimum retention package to the Federal Government, stressing that the NMA was not demanding salaries equivalent to what doctors earn in developed countries.
“We’re not asking that you give us what is equivalent to what people earn abroad, but we’re saying give us what will make the doctor happy to remain in the country, and that amount is not that much,” Omoti said.
He maintained that most Nigerian doctors would prefer to remain in the country if their welfare, safety and working conditions were improved.
“Every doctor wants to remain in this country, I can assure you, hardly any doctor ordinarily would want to leave. We want to stay. But for many people, they just cannot do it anymore,” he said.
Omoti urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to retain medical professionals, noting that Nigeria invests heavily in training doctors only to lose them to other countries.
“The government spends so much money to train an average doctor, and these doctors leave for free. Who loses? The government loses; the Nigerian people lose,” he said.
He called for improved remuneration, better healthcare infrastructure, safer working environments and stronger incentives to tackle the factors driving doctors and other health professionals abroad.
The warning comes amid continuing concerns over Nigeria’s health workforce, as medical professionals increasingly seek better remuneration, working conditions and career opportunities outside the country.
The NMA has repeatedly called for measures to address the factors responsible for the migration of health workers. The association recently advocated a higher retirement age for clinical health workers, arguing that retaining experienced doctors could help cushion the effect of the manpower shortage while the government trains and retains younger professionals.
Omoti also raised concerns over attacks and harassment of healthcare workers, describing the frequency of such incidents as alarming.
He said a national policy against the intimidation and harassment of healthcare workers had been developed and released following the work of a committee set up to address the issue.
According to him, the policy places responsibility on hospitals to provide security for healthcare workers and ensure that perpetrators of attacks are prosecuted and made to compensate affected workers.
He also called for increased security in hospitals, including the installation of closed-circuit television cameras and deployment of adequate security personnel in emergency areas.
Omoti attributed some attacks on doctors to grief, frustration, poor communication and misconceptions among patients and their relatives.
He urged hospitals to improve communication with patients and their families, particularly concerning the limitations created by inadequate manpower.
He noted that the shortage of medical personnel sometimes leaves one doctor attending to numerous emergency cases at the same time, making it impossible to provide immediate attention to every patient.
The NMA president stressed that while healthcare workers must remain committed to their duties, patients and their relatives should also understand the challenges created by the country’s limited medical workforce.
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