The coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, says the country still needs about 400,000 health workers to cater to the healthcare needs of Nigerians effectively.
Addressing newsmen on Saturday in Abuja, after his three-day briefing session with departments and agencies under the ministry, he said, “The 400,000 workforce comprise community health workers, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, physicians, lab scientists, technicians, and auxiliaries working in the Nigerian healthcare system.”
The minister explained that health workers are not enough as the number can not take care of 220 million people, stressing that the doctor-to-population ratio in the country is lower than what the World Health Organisation expects.
According to him, there is still room to produce more and excess because globally, there’s a shortage of health manpower, saying that there is almost a shortage of 18 million people.
In developed countries where they are ageing, the Pate…