… Laments worsening brain drain, poor funding, weak disease control
By Chioma Obinna
The country’s healthcare system came under fresh attack on Thursday as the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, (NMA), accused the Federal Government of failing Nigerians through poor healthcare funding, worsening brain drain, weak disease control systems and misplaced priorities in the sector.
In a Democracy Day press statement made available to Vanguard, the Chairman of the association, Dr Saheed Babajide, stated that the health sector has not improved from the poor performance of previous years, warning that Nigeria’s healthcare system is drifting deeper into crisis.
Babajide said the Federal Government had failed to show genuine commitment toward tackling the persistent migration of doctors and other healthcare workers abroad, popularly known as the “Japa syndrome.”
“There is no sign or evidence that the Federal Government is willing or ready to resolve the issue of Japa syndrome where doctors are leaving the country in droves,” he said.
He accused the Minister of Health, Muhammad Ali Pate, of focusing more on international partnerships and research engagements while neglecting fundamental issues affecting healthcare delivery.
“Government is more interested in global and international partners’ engagements in terms of research, leaving the basic health sector issues of medical services, training, human resources, health financing and good governance unattended,” Babajide stated. The NMA chairman said the exodus of health professionals could only be curbed through improved remuneration, better welfare packages, modern equipment, and quality working conditions, overseas training opportunities and stronger research support.
On healthcare financing, Babajide described the Federal Government’s budgetary allocation to health as “grossly inadequate,” lamenting the failure to meet the 15 per cent benchmark contained in the Abuja Declaration.
“Government pays more attention to roads, bridges and office buildings than to the health and education sectors,” he said.
He further alleged that even the limited funds allocated to health institutions were not being properly utilised for effective healthcare delivery.
Babajide also criticised what he described as “uncoordinated infrastructural development” across federal health institutions, saying many projects were either abandoned or executed without the required manpower and equipment.
“Majority of these infrastructures are built without the needed human resources, equipment, tools and materials. Government needs to prioritise what is truly needed,” he added.
The association warned that the continued establishment of new medical and health institutions without adequate manpower and welfare support would worsen the brain drain crisis and deepen unemployment among fresh graduates seeking internship and housemanship placements.
“This situation has brought the health sector back to what happened in the late 1990s and early 2000s when newly graduated medical doctors waited for more than one year before securing housemanship placements,” Babajide lamented.
The NMA also expressed concern over Nigeria’s preparedness for infectious disease outbreaks, warning that the country still lacks a strong and efficient disease control structure.
According to Babajide, every state should have a dedicated infectious disease hospital linked to a central national control centre in Abuja.
“This should already be in place before the current Ebola virus concerns in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said.
The doctors further decried the absence of specialised hospitals across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones, saying the lack of advanced medical centres continues to fuel medical tourism.
Babajide urged the Federal Government to establish specialist centres for paediatrics, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, ENT, plastic surgery and maxillofacial care across the regions, Abuja and Lagos.
He stated that the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Health had performed poorly on healthcare delivery because of lack of willingness and priority on health sector development in Nigeria.
