By Muhammad Amaan with agency report
The President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof Afekhide Omoti, has said that while the health sector has recorded some progress in the last three years, it continues to be plagued by brain drain, poor funding, inadequate infrastructure, rising disease burden, assault on doctors and insecurity.
He stated that the migration of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals had reached alarming levels, resulting in reduced quality of healthcare services and a shortage of workers in healthcare facilities.
Prof. Omoti, in an interview with PUNCH Healthwise, however, admitted that increased attention to health sector reforms at the federal and state levels has led to the implementation of policies designed to strengthen primary healthcare services, improve health insurance coverage and revitalise healthcare infrastructure.
He further noted that the sector witnessed increased investments in disease surveillance, public health preparedness and emergency response systems, stating that the expansion of health insurance initiatives and the operationalisation of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund had improved access to healthcare services for some vulnerable populations.
“Furthermore, there has been greater recognition of the role of healthcare workers and increased engagement with professional associations on issues affecting the sector,” the don said.
Despite these gains, the NMA president said the sector still had an unresolved human resource crisis and brain drain caused by the mass exodus of doctors and other healthcare workers from the country.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that Nigeria currently has about 40,000 licensed doctors, a reduction from the 55,000 the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said in 2024 and far below the estimated 300,000 needed to adequately serve the country’s over 240 million people.
Continuing, the NMA president said, “The migration of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to developed countries has reached alarming levels. This has resulted in severe workforce shortages, increased workload on remaining personnel, and reduced quality of healthcare services.”
Omoti further decried the inadequate government expenditure on health, stating that it remained below international recommendations and commitments.
This, he said, has led to “High out-of-pocket expenditure continues to place significant financial burdens on citizens, leading many families into poverty following illness.”
The NMA president noted that the inadequate infrastructure, obsolete equipment, erratic power supply and poor maintenance culture in many public health facilities constantly affect service delivery and contribute to medical tourism.
Omoti, a Professor of Ophthalmology, also said that the unresolved issues on remuneration, working conditions, career progression and welfare continued to result in industrial actions that disrupt the delivery of healthcare services in the country.
He decried the underfunding of Primary Healthcare Centres, stating that the limited number of staff and poor equipment hinder the delivery of quality services to the people they are meant to cater for.
Continuing, he said, “Nigeria continues to contend with both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Maternal mortality, infant mortality, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and emerging infectious diseases continue to place enormous pressure on the healthcare system.
“Assault on Doctors and Nurses: A disturbing recent trend is the increased frequency of assault and harassment of health workers, particularly doctors and, to a lesser extent, nurses. More disturbing is that apart from patient relatives who take out their frustration on doctors, even security agencies have been involved in assaults on doctors within the hospital premises.
“Rising insecurity: Doctors in particular and other health workers have frequently become victims of the insecurity in the country, with many becoming victims of kidnapping for ransom.”
Speaking on the way forward, the NMA president called on government at all levels to “substantially increase health sector funding and move closer to fulfilling commitments under the Abuja Declaration. Sustainable financing mechanisms should be strengthened to reduce dependence on out-of-pocket payments.”
Omoti asserted that urgent measures must be taken to improve remuneration, working conditions, career development opportunities, workplace safety and welfare packages to retain skilled healthcare workers.
He further called for adequate funding, staffing and supervision of PHCs to ensure the provision of accessible and affordable healthcare services nationwide.
