President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, authorised the Nationwide Coverage on Well being Workforce Migration to handle the continued exodus of Nigerian docs overseas.
The coverage, introduced by the Coordinating Minister of Well being and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, on his X deal with on Tuesday, goals to woo an estimated 12,400 Nigerian-trained docs practising overseas
In response to Pate, who additionally appeared on Channels TV on Tuesday night, 67 per cent of Nigerian-trained docs are practising in the UK alone.
“The recruitment nations, that recruit our professionals, ought to they not have some tasks to assist us develop the coaching? As a result of the pressure of well being staff’ migration is steady; it’s not going to cease tomorrow.
“the UK will want Nigerian docs; 67 per cent of our docs go to the UK and 25 per cent of the NHIS workforce is Nigerian.
“Nigerians are very vibrant, very entrepreneurial, and really succesful wherever they’re. If Nigerians maintain again from the UK, as an example, the NHS will wrestle to offer the companies that many Nigerians are going there to get,” the minister mentioned.
Pate mentioned the coverage signed by the President was greater than only a response to the continuing exodus of healthcare professionals however a complete technique to handle, harness, and reverse well being staff’ migration.
Whereas well being staff believed the coverage is likely to be optimistic, they demanded the small print and implementation plan.
Saying the coverage on Tuesday, the well being minister mentioned, ”This afternoon, HE President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR @officialABAT, in-council, authorised a landmark coverage set to remodel healthcare human useful resource administration in Nigeria.
“The Nationwide Coverage on Well being Workforce Migration addresses the essential challenges dealing with Nigeria’s well being human sources. Because the AU Champion for Human Assets for Well being and Neighborhood Well being Supply Partnership, Mr President’s dedication to a resilient and sturdy healthcare system is powerfully mirrored on this forward-looking coverage.
“This coverage is greater than only a response to the continuing exodus of healthcare professionals; it’s a complete technique to handle, harness, and reverse well being employee migration. It envisions a thriving workforce that’s well-supported, adequately rewarded, and optimally utilised to satisfy the healthcare wants of all Nigerians.”
Many Nigerian healthcare staff go away the nation for greener pastures, leaving their colleagues to cope with further workload and prolonged name hours.
The push components, in response to them, are insufficient tools, worsening insecurity, poor working circumstances, and poor wage construction.
The minister famous that central to this imaginative and prescient was the Nigeria Human Well being Useful resource Programme, which units a framework for normal critiques of working circumstances, guaranteeing that well being staff, particularly in rural and underserved areas, obtain the popularity and rewards they deserve.
“By fostering an surroundings conducive to skilled development and stability, the coverage goals to retain high expertise inside Nigeria.
“In an more and more digital world, integrating superior well being applied sciences is crucial. The coverage’s concentrate on digital well being infrastructure—together with digital medical data, telehealth, and a complete well being workforce registry—marks a big step in the direction of a extra environment friendly, data-driven well being system. These improvements will streamline healthcare supply and improve the equitable distribution of well being staff, guaranteeing entry to high quality take care of all Nigerians.
“Capability constructing is on the coronary heart of this coverage. It recognises the significance of steady skilled growth, with strategic partnerships and alternatives for worldwide coaching to equip our healthcare professionals with cutting-edge abilities. This funding in human capital underscores our dedication to retaining and empowering our healthcare workforce,” he said.
He added that the coverage addressed the return and reintegration of Nigerian well being professionals from the Diaspora.
The minister mentioned by establishing streamlined registration processes and offering engaging incentives, the coverage wouldn’t solely encourage the return of proficient professionals but additionally actively reintegrate them into the well being system.
“This strategy leverages the experience of our Diaspora to bridge gaps throughout the well being sector. Additionally, the coverage champions reciprocal agreements with different nations to make sure that the change of well being staff advantages Nigeria. These bilateral and multilateral agreements are designed to guard nationwide pursuits whereas respecting the rights and aspirations of our healthcare professionals. We name on recipient nations to implement a 1:1 match—coaching one employee to exchange each publicly skilled Nigerian employee they obtain.
“Recognising the significance of work-life stability, the coverage contains provisions for routine well being checks, psychological well-being help, and affordable working hours, particularly for youthful docs. These measures intention to create a supportive work surroundings, decreasing burnout and enhancing job satisfaction.
“The governance of this coverage might be overseen by the Nationwide Human Assets for Well being Programme inside @Fmohnigeria, in collaboration with state governments. This ensures accountable implementation and alignment with broader sector-wide well being aims.
“With this decisive motion, the Nationwide Coverage on Well being Workforce Migration is ready to safe the way forward for Nigeria’s healthcare system. Underneath Mr President’s management, this coverage will additional catalyse the transformation of our well being sector, guaranteeing entry to high quality healthcare for all Nigerians.
“As we embark on this journey, all stakeholders are invited to contribute to constructing a healthcare system that displays our nation’s potential and promise,” Pate mentioned.
Explaining the coverage additional, the Senior Adviser, Media and Exterior Relations, Tashikalmah Hallah, mentioned the federal government was negotiating with nations the place Nigerian healthcare staff migrate to to assist Nigeria enhance well being coaching services.
“We’re speaking to these nations that our well being staff are going to, to see if they’ll now assist Nigeria to enhance provisions of a few of the services that may allow Nigeria to coach extra well being staff.
“The Federal Authorities has expanded our admission quota and improved on these medical establishments, so they’re now encouraging all these nations the place our well being staff go, to help us in sustaining these well being establishments.”
Hallah mentioned the implementation of the coverage takes impact instantly.
“It’s a coverage, it was adopted by the Federal Govt Council yesterday (Monday). So, it’s speedy, and it has been authorised. So, it’s a Nigerian authorities coverage. It is a coverage binding on healthcare staff.
He emphasised that the FG has established a coverage permitting healthcare staff to journey overseas for coaching after which return to use their new information.
“Presently, there’s a request by Qatar for 10 medical docs to go there to check, particularly in oncology. So, instantly after the coaching, they’re coming again to the nation,” he mentioned.
Guarded optimism
The President of the Medical and Dental Consultants Affiliation of Nigeria, Prof Muhammad Muhammad, mentioned the coverage seems to be extra theoretical than actual.
Muhammad additionally known as for the small print of the coverage for a greater understanding.
“The problem is that we have to see the element, it’s not simply the English that issues. Folks carry plenty of insurance policies on the bottom, very properly drafted and crafted, however execution is often an issue. It is likely to be tough to say we’re totally in help or in any other case if we’ve got not seen the doc.
“I’ve deliberate to verify on the Ministry of Well being, possibly tomorrow (at the moment), to see if we are able to get the doc and have a look at it. They talked about sure issues that we’ve got been advocating – the welfare of docs, enchancment of the work surroundings, and retraining, however how they will do it must be spelled out within the doc.
“We weren’t consulted earlier than drafting the doc, so we don’t have an perception into what’s within the doc. If they will put it to work, what they’ve written is likely to be helpful to the system and to additionally the healthcare staff, however the issue is that there could also be plenty of different issues that we don’t know but. For instance, once they say they will cease the migration, in what method? Is it by stopping docs from transferring, or how are they going to do it?”
The MDCAN President famous that the general public must know if the coverage will enhance or worsen the rights of healthcare staff.
He mentioned the 1:1 match—coaching of healthcare staff to exchange each publicly skilled Nigerian employee would possibly imply that, “They need any nation that’s hiring a healthcare employee, along with paying the healthcare employee, will even pay Nigeria for the price of coaching that physician. Let’s say Saudi Arabia or UK or Canada are going to make use of a health care provider that’s skilled within the public establishment, they’ll anticipate that that nation can pay Nigeria the identical quantity that was spent to coach that physician in Nigeria.”
The Secretary of the Nationwide Affiliation of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Lagos State Council, Toba Odumosu, acknowledged that the coverage appeared promising however emphasised the significance of gaining a clearer understanding of its particulars.
He additionally expressed help for the 1:1 coaching match for healthcare staff, noting that this strategy is efficiently applied in different nations as properly.
“For everyone that migrates to explicit nations, you may have a bilateral settlement for lively recruitment of our well being staff, then you definitely discover a method to sponsor the coaching of one other healthcare employee in Nigeria. So the burden of coaching is not only on the Nigerian authorities, however the individuals who additionally profit. That’s basically what so many nations have performed. In some circumstances, they’ve bilateral agreements that may imply that you simply truly go there for a sure variety of years, and then you definitely additionally discover an settlement to return again to your nation for a specific variety of years earlier than you are actually free emigrate again. So, it’s form of like a managed migration system.
“However, we want the small print of the coverage to know how this works as a result of we nonetheless have to allocate extra funds within the well being sector, and meet the 2001 Abuja well being declaration,” he famous.
As of December 3, 2023, the variety of Nigerian-trained docs licensed to observe within the UK was now 12,198, in response to information from the Basic Medical Council within the UK.
Additionally, no fewer than 281 Nigerian docs are working in different African nations, in response to the info obtained from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria in 2023.
The MDCN information confirmed that 153 Nigerian docs are practising in Sudan; adopted by South Africa with 41 docs; Egypt 17; Ghana 17; Uganda 13; Gambia – seven.
Others are Lesotho -six; Cameroon – 4; Namibia -four; Algeria -two; Ethiopia -two; Kenya -two; Liberia -two; Benin -one; Botswana -one; Equatorial Guinea -one; Niger -one; Rwanda -one; Sierra Leone -one; Seychelles -one; South Sudan -one; Tanzania -one; Togo -one; and Zambia -one.
To this point, a complete of 13,656 Nigerian-trained nurses and midwives are practising in the UK.
That is in response to the most recent report on the variety of nursing and midwifery professionals on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register as of March 31, 2024.
The report additionally confirmed that Nigeria is without doubt one of the high non-UK nations of schooling as of March 2024, and the variety of Nigerian nurses and midwives practising within the UK elevated by 28.3 per cent in a single 12 months.
Different high non-UK nations of schooling as of March 2024, in comparison with final 12 months are India (62,413), Philippines (49,092), Romania (7,378), and Ghana (5,536).