Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Nigerian professionals resident overseas have criticised the Federal Government’s decision to review the migration policy for health workers in the country.
The Nigerian government recently approved a comprehensive “National Health Workforce Migration Policy” in what it considered as a decisive move to address the growing concerns over increasing mass exodus of health care professionals from the country.
The move has not gone down well with the professionals who have criticised the government policy, arguing that such a decision would exacerbate the already dire shortage of skilled professionals in the sector.
Expressing their views during the September edition of the Diaspora Dialogue, the medical professionals urged the government to focus on addressing the root causes of migration, such as poor working conditions, lack of job satisfaction, and inadequate remuneration.
They argued that by improving these aspects, the government can retain more health workers within the country and prevent the need for them to seek opportunities abroad.
They expressed concerns that the policy will disrupt the continuity of care for patients and further strain an already overstretched healthcare system, calling on the government to reconsider its decision and instead work towards creating a conducive environment for health workers to thrive and serve the population effectively.
Dr Osmond Agbo, a US-based medical practitioner, cited inadequate remuneration, rising insecurity, overwork without commensurate compensation, absence of diagnostic tools as the root causes of migration.
He stated that nepotism, poor leadership, inadequate regulation of medical training and the desire for a better quality of life for families are the key drivers of migration of Nigerian medical officers.
Agbo, who also blamed poor budgetary allocation to healthcare overtime, questioned the commitment of the Federal Government towards improving the healthcare system in the country.
According to him, “Despite the Abuja declarations commitment of African countries to allocate at least 15 per cent of their annual budget to healthcare, Nigeria has allocated an average of 4.7 per cent over the past two decades. It is glaring that Nigeria’s budget to the healthcare sector is bottom of the ladder by Africa standard.”
Describing the new legislation as a misguided strategy of the government, Agbo said it is targeted at frustrating the health professionals’ desire to grow in the profession. He also insisted that the strategy may create additional difficulties for medical practitioners and not ultimately stem the tide of emigration in the country.
The US-based doctor urged the government to work towards redirecting the funds currently spent on medical tourism abroad into developing the healthcare infrastructure to impact health system development.
Agbo, who is also the co-publisher of Ikengaonline, advocated for increased government investment in the country’s medical education including streamlining admission processes, adequate post educational training opportunities and improving the remuneration of clinical educators.
Moses Ochonu, a Professor of African History, stated that the policy has the potential to infringe on fundamental aspects of human freedom, adding that it is better to incentivise health workers rather than use “draconian” legislation to force them to stay.
“The policy may prevent individuals from exercising their rights to take their talents and expertise to any location in the world where they believe they will be valued and fairly compensated. Any attempt to restrict such freedoms would be anachronistic.”
“It is a way of kicking away the ladder. The disadvantages of the legislation far outweigh the advantages because a lot of the so-called lost talents return in a bigger proportion. Most of them periodically return to give free medical interventions to our people,” he said.
For newspaper columnist and Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media, Farooq Kperogi, the legislation is a clear example of policy inconsistency of the Federal Government.
“Government after government has not shown concern about the welfare of doctors in Nigeria. We don’t need to put these hurdles to prevent people from migrating.
“Home is where the heart is and any policy that stops people from migrating doesn’t solve any problem because people will still find a way about it,” he said.
