Brain-Drain: Nigeria’s teeming population challenged by health sector’s man-power crisis

Dearth of professionals in Nigeria’s critical  sectors have been growing at disturbing height. The trend has hit the  health sector so hard that the problems associated with huge deficits in man-power have worsened to a profile of deep crises, requiring urgent attention. Poor conditions of service and the lamentable apparent perpetual passive concern of the Government to the defective issues challenging the sectors have constituted grounds of dissatisfaction for health professionals. The expression of displeasure with grievances taking the form of incessant industrial actions have never changed the narratives of the disposition of the Government to the sector. Today, the profile of public health system in the Country still remains unsavoury. Strike by health professionals under the employment of the Government over the years, became a redundant feature of the sector, while the critical issues of concern remain largely unaddressed.

As more health professionals grew to develop dissatisfaction over the system, losing hope on same for the years of irresponsive disposition of the Government, the resort of many have been settled on fleeing the Country for greeener pastures. The phenomenon which has grown to be known as “brain-drain” has left Nigeria’s health sector deserted of health professionals. The profile of the upside records of Nigerian trained health professionals leaving the Country yearly have been worrisome, just as several thousands are on the look for their move out of the Country, for greener pastures.

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on Monday, 04, April, 2022, disclosed that no less than 9,000 medical doctors fled the Country for greener pastures in two years. Their destination were noted to be largely the United Kingdom, United States of America and Canada. Statistics of records since the period of concern (2016 and 2018) have left the health care system with only 4.7% of specialists to manage Nigerians’ health concerns – development experts have lamented to have left negative impacts for health management in the Country. The rippling effects of the deficiencies have seen the Country losing billions to medical tourism.

In lamentation, NMA President, Professor Innocent Ujah, at the NMA’s maiden annual lecture tagged: “Brain Drain and Medical Tourism: The Twin Evil in Nigeria’s Health System,” had disclosed that over $1 billion was being spent yearly by Nigerians on medical tourism. He had decried the high emigration rate of doctors of Nigerian extraction to foreign nations, regretting a situation of health workforce crisis. The Don who had noted that human resources for health, which according to him, represented “one of the six pillars of a strong and efficient health system,” was critical to the improvement of health system, said the huge amount Nigerians were injecting into medical tourism has weakening effects on Nigeria’s economy. According to Ujah, the impacts of the ugly phenomenon on the economy, include reduction of funding and investment in the health sector, widening infrastructural deficits and the growing distrust in the Nigerian health system by the Nigerian public.

“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sub-Saharan Africa has about 3 per cent of the world’s health workers while it accounts for 24 per cent of the global burden of disease. Nigeria has a doctor-to-population ratio of about 1: 4,000-5,000 which falls far short of the WHO recommended doctor-to-population ratio of 1:600. Nigeria is still grappling with disturbingly poor health indices. The Nigerian health sector today groans under the devastating impact of huge human capital flight which now manifests as brain drain.

“The twin monster of brain drain and medical tourism seems to have a bi-directional relationship, which implies that one will lead to the other and vice-versa. It is because of the devastating consequences of this twin evil on the health system efficiency and effectiveness and the urgent need for solutions and action that inspired the theme for this maiden NMA Annual Lecture tagged, ‘Brain Drain and Medical Tourism: The Twin evil in Nigeria’s Health System.’  The burning desire of NMA to proactively confront the many challenges of healthcare delivery in Nigeria must be sustained using evidence-based constructive engagement, high-level advocacy and understanding to achieve quality healthcare for our people so as to reduce the unacceptably high morbidity and mortality. This national discourse on brain drain and medical tourism is, therefore, inevitable at this time,” he was quoted.

The impacts of these trends are, by no small means, inimical for a nation under the stress of population explosion. The paradox of alarming dearth of health professionals in the Country, amidst population explosion is worrisome. On Monday, 1st, August, 2022, at a press briefing in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, during the 23rd Annual National Scientific Conference tagged, ‘Covid 19 Experience: Expanding The Role of Health System Pharmacists,’ the National Chairman of the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria, Olabode Ogunjemiyo, mentioned that poor service conditions were responsible for the brain-drain in the health sector. He pointed out that between January and July 2022, over 200 pharmacists had left the country to foreign lands in search of greener pastures. He was quoted, “Poor condition of service is the reason for brain drain in the health sector. Since the year began, over 200 pharmacists have left the country in search for greener pastures. And in order to check the trend, the federal and state governments need to set aside substantial resources to upgrade all our health centres and improve on our welfare packages.”

The realities before the Country is such that demand a responsive health system. The growing population, reflecting an explosive dimension, would only require that there be conscious investment in the health system for a robust architecture to cater for the demands of a population growing in such dimension. The poor commitment of the Government to the challenges of the health sector has been lamentable, apparently reflecting insensitivity to the demands from the sector pari-passu the realities of a growing population.

Commitment of huge investments to revitalise the public health system of the Country is a necessity before the Government to fulfil. The Government must live up to the expectations of developing a virile health system responsive to the demands of the Nigerian population.

As observed, large population is a source of national strength, however, in as much as such remains a potential power, it could also serve as debilitating factor. The expression of the later, finds reflection where a huge percentage of the population is saturated with unhealthy persons, who, a bad health system is unresponsive to addressing their health challenges.

To save the Country from unmanageable health crises, the Government must rise to the demands of reconfiguring the public health system of the Country. The demands for such, require nothing but an overarching concentration and deliberate commitment to the necessity of developing a responsive health system, correspondingly suitable to the realities of the growing complex population, and the challenges associated with same as health is concerned.

The troubles of the sector, which have left it unattractive and unsavoury for practitioners, must be addressed to avert the heat of looming crises which rising dearth of professionals is portending. Addressing the various issues relating to poor conditions of service, creating by the desertion for greener pastures, a vacuum brewing an alarming man-power crisis in the sector, is a necessity that must be addressed concertedly with much alacrity.