Prof. Ali Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, has expressed concerns, stating that Nigeria’s healthcare workforce, which stands at approximately 400,000, falls short of meeting the healthcare demands of the nation.
According to Pate, Nigeria is presently battling with insufficiency of manpower in the health sector due to varying factors that he highlighted.
Addressing reporters in Abuja on Saturday, the health minister shared this statement after conducting a three-day briefing session with the ministry’s departments and agencies.
The meeting was organized by the ministry to chart a blueprint for Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Comparing Nigeria’s healthcare system to other countries with similar populations, he stated that the
The healthcare workforce in Nigeria, totaling 400,000 individuals, is a mix of community health workers, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, physicians, lab scientists, technicians, and auxiliary staff, all contributing to the healthcare sector.
He said,
- “They are not enough if you think that this number can take care of 220 million people. Our doctor-to-population ratio is lower than what the World Health Organisation expects.
- “So, there’s still room to produce more. To produce excess because globally, there’s a shortage of health manpower, there is almost a shortage of 18 million people.
- “In developed countries where they are aging, they are retiring so they need more people to provide services.”
Infrastructural Improvement to Tackle Brain Drain
Meanwhile, he noted that the current administration is working tirelessly to improve the infrastructural condition in the health system to tackle the apparent brain drain in the health sector.
Referencing the infrastructural strides achieved under the previous administration, the minister noted that this current administration’s agenda is to consolidate the effort of the previous administration to close the infrastructural gap in the health sector, adding that the health workforce also needs to be appreciated and retrained for maximum output for their service in the country.
He said,
- “So, I don’t want to undervalue the contribution of the workers that we have.
- “We have to acknowledge them, celebrate them, make life easier for them even as we train more or re-train the ones that we have even as we work to resolve their issues.
- “We value the Nigerian health workforce and will continue to support and develop that going forward,” he added.
Ending Medical Tourism
Speaking on the government’s efforts to eliminate medical tourism, Prof. Ali Pate emphasized that this phenomenon transcends borders and is observed in countries worldwide, whether developed or developing. Many individuals opt to travel from the United States to East Asia for more economical surgical options.
His words,
- “However, what seems to be an issue is using public financing to fund it and missing the opportunity to keep some of the resources used in engaging in medical tourism back in the country.
- “When I mentioned unlocking the healthcare value-chain, it includes mobilizing private capital to invest in the physical infrastructure and the human resources so that some of the services that people go to India for, we will have them here.
- “We have begun discussing mechanisms or models where we’ll go on that path as part of expanding the value chain so that it’s not necessarily publicly financed.
- “So, if you want to have plastic surgery, there’s no need to use government money to pay for your plastic surgery but if we have a facility that will do that here for you, we will keep your dollars here and employ a few attendants here to do the procedure for you.”
The minister added that because people had options as to where they would seek healthcare, medical tourism might not be completely eradicated.
He, however, assured that the Federal Government would use the opportunity of human capital, private sector capital, and innovation to provide services that people could use in the country.
- “People leave the developed world and go to South Africa to get surgical procedures and laboratory services. So those kinds of things are possible, but we are nowhere there yet.”
