Over 10,000 doctors left Nigeria for UK in last 7 yrs — NMA

The Nigerian Medical Association of Kaduna State Chapter yesterday said more than 10,000 doctors left  Nigeria to the Uk, in search for a greener pasture in the last seven years, also claiming that Doctors in kaduna state are still paid

NMA while  celebrating ‘Physicians’ Week’ kept lamenting on the brain drain of the medical profession in the last seven years, amidst deadly disease in the country requiring more medical doctors.

Dr. Madaki Sheyin,Chairman of NMA Kaduna State Chapter speaking at the ‘Physicians’ Week’, stated  “a poorly  paid Nigerian doctor, overworked, lacked necessary work tools and has become a target for kidnappers.

”Nigerian doctors have been rendered unimportant by successive governments for inadequate attention to the heath sector.

The issue of progressive depletion of human resource for health cannot be over emphasized.

With the recent article from an Online Newspaper of 9th October 2022 titled “200 Nigerian Doctors Move to UK in One Month’, the fact that checks on the website of the General Medical Council, GMC, the body which licenses and maintains the official register of medical practitioners in the UK, showed that the GMC licensed at least 200 Nigerian-trained doctors between August 31, 2022, and September 30, 2022 was revealed.

The Kaduna Doctor is even worse hit by this poor welfare conditions, doctors in the State’s employ as at today receive only 60 percent of the CONMESS salary scale, a far cry from what those in the Federal and other States are receiving. We call on our Governments to quickly declare emergency action in Nigeria’s health sector for the sake of her citizens”.

“This alongside insecurity is largely responsible for the high turnover of doctors in the state and mass exodus causing both internal and external brain drain”.

The doctors therefore appealed to Kaduna state government to immediately implement the report of the Committee on Review of Medical Doctors and other health workers’ salaries in Kaduna State and also domesticate the newly approved hazard allowance for doctors.