60% of doctors planning to leave, only 12,297 resident doctors remain
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Six in 10 doctors “plan to leave” or “have the intention to leave” Nigeria as soon as possible, according to the latest survey conducted by the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
The survey shows only 12,297 resident doctors now work in both federal and state tertiary health institutions.
“As of the last time we issued the questionnaire, we found that out of 10 resident doctors, six of them are planning to leave or have the intention to leave.
“The statistics we had then was in December 2021. So, it’s either they are planning to leave or they have thought of leaving,” NARD President Dare Ishaya told The PUNCH.
“As we speak, I am aware that a lot of my colleagues are working towards leaving the country, and there are a lot of factors responsible for that. The push factor is majorly the economy.
“Of course, you will agree with me that we are having inflation in the country and the rate at which our naira is being devalued is alarming.
“If you compare our pay with the pay where most of these health workers go, you will discover that what we earn here is not up to one-tenth of what they get practising there.
“As long as these factors exist, our members and other health workers will continue to seek greener pastures except if things are done to reverse them.”
Ishaya said there are 9,297 resident doctors in Federal Tertiary Health Institutions (FTHI) between 2,000 and 3,000 in State Tertiary Health Institutions (STHI).
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Ratio of doctor to patients 1:25,000
Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) President Uche Ojinmah warned the brain drain would get worse unless working conditions improve.
“From 1960 till today, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria [MDCN] has registered about 80,000 doctors in Nigeria, and some have come in to practise in Nigeria,” he said, per The PUNCH.
“You will know that from 1960 till date, some have died, some are no longer practising, some are incapacitated, some have joined politics and a reasonable number of about 20,000 to 25,000 are practising outside the country.
“So, by the last analysis we had, we had between 20,000 and 25,000 doctors in Nigeria and this number is supposed to take care of 200 million people.
“So, we have a ratio of one doctor to between 4,000 and 5,000 patients. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation [WHO] recommended one doctor for 600 patients.”