Sustainable investment not health bill necessary to address brain drain, professionals advise FG

A committee, set up by Academy of Medicine Specialties (AMS), yesterday, provided reasons why proposed Doctors’ Bill before the House of Representatives would not reverse brain drain.

The Prof. Oye Gureje-led panel, with membership of Profs. Olufemi Ogunbiyi, Adejuwon Adeneye, Folakemi Oredugba, Ademola Oremosu, and Rita Oladele, said sustainable investment in public health would reverse trend.

The body noted that contents of the bill were counterproductive, especially as they relate to the five-year compulsory practice before certification.

It said: “That prolongation will adversely affect our residency programme and training of future specialists since doctors and dentists need to be fully registered to participate in the programme. Finally, the assumption that doctors and dentists need to be fully registered in Nigeria before they can find jobs outside the country is erroneous. Indeed, some of these professionals do emigrate before or shortly after housemanship.  The implication of all these is that the bill, even if passed, will not achieve the goals for which it is intended.”
 
In a letter to Speaker of House of Representatives, Clerk of National Assembly and others, the academy Said the bill has a potential of causing a grave harm to public health system and violating human rights of doctors and dentists.
   
The correspondence, jointly signed by president and secretary of the academy, Profs. Oladapo Ashiru and Olufemi Ogunbiyi, sugessted:  “Nigeria needs to attend to the ‘push’ factors to reduce problem of brain drain in the sector. The country must substantially increase investment in public health. Our budgetary allocation is too low to support a strong public health system. Even within the African continent, we are not making adequate provision for population healthcare. For example, a budget allocation of about 3.03 per cent in 2019 compared poorly with that of 9.1 per cent in South Africa. The per capital spending on health in 2022 of $ 8.03 is one of the lowest even in Africa.” They said remuneration of health workers needs to be substantially improved.