Stakeholders urge govt to tackle brain drain in health sector

The Federal Government has been urged to save the health sector from total collapse as a result of the high rate of health personnel leaving the country for better offers abroad.

The Brand Manager, Dexa Medical Nigeria, Nnamdi Ezeani, gave this admonition at the conference for healthcare professionals organised by Medic West Africa.

At the event, about 5,000 healthcare professionals were present, with 150 exhibitors from 32 countries.

State-of-the-art imaging equipment, laboratory and IVD technology, surgery developments, prosthetics advances, and cost-effective disposables, among many others, were exhibited at the conference.

Ezeani contended that lack of healthcare facilities is a contributor for the brain drain currently affecting the health sector.

According to him: “Everyday, we hear of doctors going on strike and leaving the country. According to the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), six out of ten doctors are planning to leave the country. Scary statistics, but it is true. In fact, from the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), the doctor patient ratio is one to four thousand or five thousand patients, which is a far cry from the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) standard of one to six hundred. So, even the doctors on ground are overworked. The implication of this is that it will affect service delivery.”

He explained that other challenges that the government must tackle in order to place the health sector on the right path is ensuring cost-efficiency of health delivery.

To facilitate this, he suggested that the government must provide funds for the sector as well as provide a conducive working environment.

On his part, the Digital Marketing Manager, Dexa Group, Tony Amadi, stated that some of the challenges that needed to be addressed by the health practitioners to revive the sector are currently ongoing.

He explained that part of the efforts being initiated was the conference where healthcare brands showcase cost-efficient products to the general public.

He also said that the conference offered the public quality medication from authentic sources.