The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has said more than 100 of its members left the country in the past 24 months.
The president of the association, Victor Makanjuola, while speaking at a briefing in Abuja on Sunday, said the medical officials left the services of 17 tertiary health institutions in the country.
Mr Makanjuola said the mass exodus of medical and dental consultants to more developed countries has brought significant disruptions to Nigeria’s health care ecosystem.
About MDCAN
MDCAN is a group of medical specialists in different field of medicines and dentistry with the highest qualifications in medical practices.
Their responsibilities include training medical doctors, offering specialist services to patients and also conducting research in medical fields.
MDCAN has members in government and non-governmental hospitals, tertiary and secondary health facilities across the country.
Reasons for exit
Mr Makanjuola said health workers are leaving in large numbers due to poor welfare and working conditions in the country.
He said the issue of insecurity ravaging major parts of the country is contributing to the daily exit of medical practitioners from the country.
He also noted that many recent policies of government “appear to target medical professionals and their practice in Nigeria”, which he claimed adversely impact on quality of healthcare delivery in the country.
“The level of insecurity in the country has remained worrisome, making it nearly impossible to safely use certain road routes across the country.
“This is despite efforts being made by the government to address the challenges.
“The persistent attack on Medical and Dental Postgraduate Medical Fellowship and discrimination against our members have also continued unabated,” he said.
He explained that the unjustifiable attacks have the potential for disrupting medical training in universities and tertiary hospitals.
“These young people will not leave if the economy is good, the older ones will not leave if there are facilities to train with; they will not leave if their pay is reasonable and most importantly they will not leave if they are gainfully employed,” he said.
Halting slide
He said the government can improve the conditions of service of those still in the system to halt further brain drain.
“Government as a matter of urgency should put polices in place to arrest the mass exodus of highly skilled medical and dental consultants into developed countries.
“Such policies must domesticate the pull factors while minimising the push factors that encourage emigration of healthcare professionals,” he said.
Hazard allowance
Mr Makanjuola said the amount offered as hazard allowance to health workers is highly discouraging.
He noted that the recently reviewed hazard allowances by the government “is grossly inadequate to address the multiple risks faced by an average health worker in the country.”
He said the federal government’s circular is not in line with the earlier agreement reached during negotiation with representatives of various associations under the health sector.
“This further complicates the near-complete erosion of relativity in remuneration that has existed among different health workers,” he said.
Hazard allowances
The Nigerian government recently increased the hazard allowances applicable to health workers in federal government-owned healthcare facilities across the country.
The government increased the allowance for doctors from N5,000 to between N32,000 and N40,000, while other health workers are to receive between N15,000 and N34,000.
Mr Makanjuola, however, said the agreement reached with the government is between the range of N34,000 and N100,000.
Hazard allowance, a wage supplement paid to workers who do dangerous jobs…
