In order to reduce the brain drain and shortage of manpower in the health sector, former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo has charged government at all levels to improve and prioritize the welfare of health practitioners.
Obasanjo gave the charge on Thursday during the 44th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) held at the Federal Medical Center, Abeokuta.
Speaking at the conference themed ‘Evolving Roles Of Doctors In Healthcare Management and Nation Building’, the former President maintained that the current economic hardship has contributed to health practitioners seeking greener pasture outside the country.
Obasanjo who was represented by the hospital’s Medical Director, Musa Olomu, lamented that the ‘Japa syndrome’ is seriously affecting the health sector as many specialized doctors have fled the country.
He said, “Resident doctors constitute the bedrock of whatever medical services any country is offering its citizens and Nigeria is not an exception.
“It is therefore very necessary for government at all levels to ensure that there are good welfare packages for the doctors without whom it will be impossible to render any meaningful service.
“Having seen the amount of works resident doctors are offering in our hospitals, I therefore appeal that we should see to their welfare. It is my hope that at the end of this conference, the Federal Government, the state and local government will set to improving the welfare of not only the doctors but all the health care workers.”
In his address, the State Governor Dapo Abiodun appreciated the doctors for their service to society in spite of difficult circumstances, including deteriorating infrastructure, shortage of manpower among others.
He noted that the present administration is doing all it can and assured the doctors of a brighter future.
Abiodun said, “In the next decades there would be a turnaround. In the last one year I have seen mobilization of resources to improve our infrastructure, to ensure that we have the right equipment and also investment in training of healthcare workers.
“So it takes time for these things to start showing but I am confident the story and terrain of the healthcare system in Nigeria is going to change significantly.”
The governor represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, however, charged the doctors to protect the environment stressing that 30 percent of environmental challenges across the globe are caused by healthcare waste.
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