A bill seeking to mandate Nigerian-trained medical and dental practitioners to practise in the country for at least five years as a condition for becoming fully licensed has been met with severe criticism. The bill which passed Second Reading in the House of Representatives on April 6, is sponsored by Hon. Abiodun Ganiyu Johnson (APC; Lagos) and seeks to amend the Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Act, 2004. A few Members who opposed the bill, expressed concern over possible fundamental rights violations and called for the bill to be reworked. Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, explained that the bill was not enough as a strategy to address brain drain in the health sector, adding that medical practitioners are not the only professionals leaving the country.
Nigeria’s healthcare system is in dire strait. It is grossly underfunded with less than 8% of the national budget apportioned to health. Public healthcare facilities are poorly maintained and ill-managed while several others are in dilapidation. It is these facilities that the majority of Nigerians are forced to attend for medical care. Premium medical facilities, mostly private are only available for those that can afford it. The elite and ruling political class take the route of medical tourism to other countries, meaning that political action to improve medical facilities will be hard in coming.
Another aspect of the failings in the sector is poor remuneration of healthcare workers. For many young medical practitioners, a 6-year undergraduate study, further elongated by strike action in public universities and poor remuneration packages, leave much to be desired. There is therefore little wonder why medical practitioners whose skills are highly sought after globally, continue to leave the country in their numbers.
The brain drain of professionals in this critical sector is indeed a matter of concern. However, this bill does not appear to be the best way to address the issue. Medical associations in and outside Nigeria have kicked against the bill, describing it as harsh, discriminatory and ill-informed. Experts in the sector have suggested the improvement of working conditions in the healthcare sector and increase of Nigeria’s annual healthcare budget, as ways to improve the sector and consequently curb the emigration of health workers who go to other countries in pursuit of better working conditions and an improved standard of living.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified Nigeria and fifty-four other countries as facing the most severe health workforce challenges in relation to universal health coverage. Ostensibly acting on the WHO classification, the United Kingdom has put Nigeria on a list of countries that it will not actively target for recruitment of health and social care workers.