38,000 Nigerian doctors are practising abroad out of 73,000 - VC laments
- The vice chancellor of Eko University Medicine and Health Science, Lagos, Prof Muheez Durosimi, has lamented the inadequacy of registered Nigerian doctors
- He said out of 73,000 registered Nigerian doctors, only 35,000 are practising in the country while 38,000 are practising abroad
- He said Nigerian doctors are well trained, adding that the economic situation of the country has made government not to employ the required number of doctors
The vice chancellor of Eko University Medicine and Health Sciences, Lagos, Prof Muheez Durosimi, said out of 73,000 registered Nigerian doctors, 38,000 of them are practising abroad, Punch reports.
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Legit.ng gathered that Muheez, who spoke at the inauguration of the governing council of the institution, lamented the inadequacy of medical doctors in the country.
He said Nigeria was yet to attain the recommendation of the World Health Organisation of one doctor per 600 patients.
According to him, the country presently operates on one doctor to 6,000 patients, adding that it would take the country about 100 years to meet up with the WHO’s recommendation.
He said: “Nigerian doctors are well trained. When our doctors go abroad, they are recognised. The downturn of the economy has made government not to employ the required number of doctors; we have a lot of medical graduates that are still looking for job.
“On the list of the medical and dentist council, we have a total of 73,000 members, only 35,000 are practising in the country; the rest are in diaspora. The current system cannot absorb them and we have so many government hospitals that can’t be proud of adequate number of doctors."
The vice chancellor who asserted that Nigerian doctors are well trained and among the best in the world, said both federal and state governments were not ready to employ them.
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A former chairman of Faculty of Pathology, National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, said additional institutions that would produce quality doctors must be established for the country to meet the WHO standard.
Chairman of the governing council, Professor Akanni Hussein who also spoke at the occasion, attributed the problem in the health sector to structural defect, adding that Nigerian doctors performed well.
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Hussein, a former vice chancellor of Lagos State University, said government interference in the management of university should be discontinued, saying there should be academic freedom for universities.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported the national president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Prof Mike Ogirima, revealed that three hundred Nigerian doctors left the country in 2016.
Ogirima made this revelation at the association’s National Executive Council meeting held on Thursday, December 14, 2017 in Lagos.
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Source: Legit.ng
