Post-graduate medical college to honour late Stella Adadevoh, others at convocation today

Urges FG to declare a brain-drain national emergency

The late Dr. Stella Adadevoh will be posthumously awarded the Distinguished Fellowship of the National Post-graduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN), Ijanikin, Lagos, at the institution’s 39th convocation ceremony today.

The late medical doctor, who is a fellow of the college in internal medicine, will be honoured alongside Borno State Governor, Dr. Babagana Zulum and Alhaji (Dr.) Aminu Alhassan Dantata for distinguishing themselves in leadership, administration, captainship of industry, and philanthropy.

The convocation will see the award of one distinguished fellowship, two honorary fellowships, 309 fellowships by examination from 16 faculties, 15 foundation fellowships from the Faculty of Emergency Medicine, and 88 post-graduate MDs by publication.

The College President, Dr. Musa Muhammed Borodo, who spoke with journalists at a press briefing in Lagos, yesterday, urged the Federal Government to declare brain-drain as a national emergency. He also appealed to doctors to stop leaving the country to practise abroad.

Borodo, however, urged doctors to give the newly-constituted health committee headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo a chance to revamp the sector.

He said: “The working conditions for doctors and other health workers are not ideal in Nigeria. The teaching hospitals are not what they should be. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation recently said they didn’t know that the health sector was in total disarray until COVID-19 came.

“We hope that the health committee inaugurated by the President will improve the situation. We do urge our fellows to come back and those that have not gone to stay back. There is no place like home. We hope that things will improve. We should be patient.”

Borodo said despite the efforts the country is making to train doctors, the intended impact of this effort in the nation’s healthcare delivery system is rapidly being lost to others, due to the escalating monstrous brain drain.