Recent poll conducted by Nigerian Polling Organization in conjunction with Nigeria Health Watch indicate that over 88% of Nigerian doctors trained in the country are currently seeking employment opportunities abroad, a development that could adversely affect the nation's health sector in the long run.
The Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Poll Organization, Bell Ihua who made this known yesterday in a chat with newsmen in Abuja lamented that 8 out of 10, medical doctors were seeking opportunities elsewhere. He noted that the figure cuts across all classes of doctors ranging from corps members, consultants, residents and registrars among others.
According to him “Nigeria has about 72,000 medical doctors registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. However, only approximately 35,000 are currently practicing in the country. The United Kingdom and the United States are the top destinations where Nigerian medical doctors seek work opportunities.”
He listed the reasons for this relocation to include “Challenges such as high taxes and deduction from salary (98 percent), low work satisfaction (92 percent), poor salaries and emoluments (91 percent) and the huge knowledge gap that exists in the medical practice abroad (47 percent) amongst others.”
The poll concluded that for the health sector to operate optimally “Nigeria need 303,333 medical doctors now and at least 10,605 new doctors annually to join the workforce. Only at this level can we expect good quality patient care that is not compromised by errors occasioned by fatigued and overworked medical doctors" it added
Ihua expressed optimism that the finding will stimulate healthy conversation and assist the government in coming up with policies that would reposition the health sector.
