787 Nigerian doctors licensed and working, bringing total to 9,976
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Up to 787 Nigerian doctors were licensed in the United Kingdom between January and July, and are employed or in private practice, bring their total number to 9,976 on the General Medical Council (GMC) register.
The GMC is the body that licenses and keeps the official register of medical practitioners in the UK.
It licensed at least 266 Nigerian doctors in June and July alone.
That is an average of four Nigerian doctors licensed in the UK per day in two months mainly because of the failure of Abuja to stem the exodus of doctors and health workers amid the brain drain of professionals escaping an inept government.
A total 9,189 had been licensed by December 2021.
The GMC register shows the number of Nigerian-trained doctors in the UK is now 9,976 but does not include doctors of Nigerian origin trained outside Nigeria, according to reporting by The PUNCH.
More than 100,000 doctors are registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), according to the body.
Nigeria has a shortage of doctors at home but has the third highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK after India and Pakistan.
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Other popular destinations of exodus
With a population of over 200 million, Nigeria’s doctor to patient ratio is below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation of 1:600.
A poll by NOI in 2018 showed 88 per cent of Nigerian doctors were considering work opportunities abroad, but experts say the figure may be higher due to rising insecurity and economic crunch.
Their other popular destinations include the United States, Canada, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) keeps on telling the federal government to provide an environment conducive for the welfare of doctors and health workers in order to curb the massive brain drain.
Because Abuja does not really care, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has issued a two-week ultimatum to the government over poor welfare and failure to implement the new hazard allowance signed in December 2021.
The doctors had gone on strike for about 60 days in 2021 before the allowance was approved.
MDCAN blames government
“Government should declare a state of emergency on the health care sector, address the challenges, improve remuneration and good working conditions and address security issues,” NARD Publicity Secretary Alfa Yusuf told The PUNCH.
What are the causes of the brain drain? Yusuf was asked.
“Poor remuneration, poor working facilities, insecurities including assault on doctors and burn out from over work, among others,” he said.
Former Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) President Ken Ozoilo lamented that “it is unfortunate that the government has once again failed to live up to expectations, but this is typical.
“This kind of attitude on the part of government and its agents feeds the notion that the government does not listen to workers unless they are on strike.
“Predictably, we are going into another round of NARD strike at a most difficult time and the government is squarely to blame.
“Brain drain will sadly continue and will get worse. There is no measure put in place by the country yet that is capable of stemming the tide. Even the new hazard allowance fails miserably in this wise as it is a far cry from the demand of health workers.
“The NARD strike is not inevitable, but it is unlikely that agents of government responsible will act on time to avert it.”
