Former health commissioner proffers solutions to brain drain in Nigeria

A former Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Dr Jide Idris, has appealed to both the Federal and state governments to address issues driving brain drain in the country.

Idris made the appeal during a scientific conference organised by the Medical Guild on Wednesday in Lagos with the theme: “Tackling the Challenges of Human Resources for Health in Lagos.”

Idris said that human resources was pivotal to the development of the state, noting that it was the heartbeat of healthcare delivery.

According to him, brain drain is not peculiar to Lagos and Nigeria, but it is a global issue.

He noted that it was a long-standing phenomenon in the health profession.

He, however, said that it had in recent years taken an extreme proportion, especially in Africa.

To address the challenges of brain drain, Idris advised the government to improve the remunerations of health workers and investment in the sector.

Idris noted that the educational system and obsolete equipment should be upgraded to meet the needs of society and fit global trends.

On his 2022 expectations for the health sector, Idris advised the government to partner more with the private sector by engaging them and also improving on the technology.

According to him, there must be funds for health promotion and disease prevention aspect of care, noting that robust human resources is critical to achieving this as the country is still living with the COVID-19 pandemic and other epidemics.

He stressed that there was the need to build the public health system to address emergencies, saying that a lot of people die from crises arising from emergencies.

“Train more personnel on basic life support because a lot of people die when it comes to issues of critical care.

“All these issues should be addressed based on available data to create the right policy,” he said.

Also, Dr Oluwajimi Sodipo, Chairman, Medical Guild, said that the conference theme was aimed at analysing the manpower challenges and ways to retain the medical personnel amid lure of them to other countries from Nigeria.

Sodipo said that the shortage of medical doctors had been a historical challenge for Nigeria, noting that some of the country’s best had left for greener pastures and better job opportunities.

He commended the Lagos State Government for its ongoing employment exercise holding at various levels of healthcare in the state and the infrastructure development programmes.

Sodipo noted that the thrust of his administration was to prioritise welfare, especially in the area of salary disparity, housing for doctors, and tackle the shortage of healthcare professionals.

He said that his team was able to achieve salary disparity for Lagos doctors, implementation of Medical Residency Training Act and provide leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He added that self-development courses were offered to members and also intervened in various welfare issues.

“To this end, this committee is proud to say that within the limits of human endeavour and with widespread support, we have achieved major gains while leaving a legacy for future officers to build upon,” he said.