The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa has disclosed that the Federal Government is developing a platform to interact with healthcare professionals in the diaspora.
The Minister made this known when he hosted a discussion with around 400 Nigerian healthcare professionals of Nigerian origin based internationally over the weekend.
Alausa lamented that in regards to research and healthcare, Nigeria has been absent on the world stage for far too long.
Speaking further he said, “As a Nigerian and American-trained Nephrologist, I know first-hand the impact diaspora participation can have on the improvement, quality and delivery of healthcare and research in Nigeria.
“I opened the session by sharing our four-point agenda and the progress our ministry has achieved in the last nine months under President Tinubu. The session ended with an in-depth Q&A, where I answered multiple questions and addressed concerns from attendees living in the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.
“At the end of the 2 hour 45 min conversation, I believe the attendees were satisfied with I and Prof.Muhammad Pate’s approach to tackling our systemic challenges.
“In addition to these sessions, which will be continuous, we are working on an interactive dashboard for healthcare professionals in the diaspora to engage and find opportunities to provide their services i.e., through training, teaching, research etc,” he said.
He added that under the administration of President Tinubu healthcare is a priority and it is evidenced by the current healthcare budget, the largest in Nigeria’s history.
He also challenged all Nigerians in diaspora and in-country to be loyal to Nigeria as other citizens are loyal to their country.