507 medical practitioners in Lagos State have left the country in less than 24 months in search of better working conditions, according to the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association.
Dr. Benjamin Olowojebutu, the association’s chairman, revealed this in an exclusive interview with PUNCH HealthWise and urged the federal and state governments to address the issue of brain drain in the healthcare industry.
Olowojebutu claimed that brain drain has become a significant issue in Nigeria and issued a warning that, if the issue remained and wasn’t addressed as an emergency, medicine may go extinct in the nation.
He claims that there is a severe shortage of doctors in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos State.
The NMA chairman said, “There is a very big challenge about brain drain. I have said several times that we have to be very deliberate about how we tackle this.
“There is a pull and push syndrome that is affecting doctors leaving Lagos State. Last month alone, we had over 100 doctors who left Nigeria for the UK and about 80 of them were from Lagos State.
“During the COVID-19 in 2020, 81 doctors moved from Lagos to the UK. They had a special plane that came to carry them from the UK. Between March 2020 and October 2022, we lost 507 doctors from Lagos State alone to the UK.
The doctor advised that an urgent assessment and an urgent meeting be held to address the issue.
He noted, “The nation must address brain drain as an emergency. Who is addressing it? It’s only the doctors that have been talking about it. Which government has come out to talk about it?
“So, for us in Lagos State, it is important as a nation that we address this push and pull syndrome. What are we doing as a nation? There has to be an emergency to sort it out.
“We have to be deliberate about it because if we don’t, medicine will go into extinction.
“Before, we used to have young doctors traveling abroad for greener pastures, but now, even the consultants that are supposed to be training the young doctors are leaving the country.”
Olowojebutu bemoaned the fact that the country’s quality of healthcare delivery had declined due to a shortage of personnel.
“There is a lot of dearth of doctors in Nigeria, especially in Lagos State. Some places don’t have specialties anymore because the specialists have left the country at this time.
“So, it is important as a nation that we address this thing wholesomely, the welfare of doctors and their salaries.
“We hope that the government will sit down and look at this as an emergency and solve the problem,” he said.
Additionally, he encouraged the administration to quit being silent about the issue, stating that it was pastime for action from the government.
The British General Medical Council reports that there are currently 10,387 doctors in the UK who had their medical education in Nigeria.
Other categories of health professionals are migrating in addition to doctors.
According to the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors, six out of ten doctors in the nation intend to relocate to countries with more favorable medical conditions.
A major problem in the nation is the mass exodus of medical professionals, particularly doctors, pharmacists, and nurses.
According to a 2017 survey conducted by the Nigerian Polling Organization in collaboration with Nigeria Health Watch, 88% of Nigerian doctors were looking for employment abroad.
