Brain drain: Fayemi calls for establishment of National Health service scheme

In an effort to curb the increasing health workforce brain drain in Nigeria the Former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has called on the Nigerian Government to establish a National Health Service Scheme to engage newly licenced health workers for a fixed period of time before leaving the country for greener pastures.

READ ALSO:Curbing Brain Drain in Nigeria’s Health Sector

Fayemi made the disclosure in his keynote address at an induction retreat for Commissioner of Health from the 36 States of the federation in Abuja, the nation’s capital themed “Navigating Health Leadership from Promise to Impact” organised by the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum.

He urged the federal government to establish a National Health Service Scheme for newly licensed health workers that would enable them spend a fixed period, not limitless from three to five years.

“Whilst you’re doing that your licence is held by the Nigerian Dental and Medical Council or a regulatory body that gives you that licence and once you’re done, you can decide you want to stay or you want to leave,” he said.

The former governor also recommended that any countries coming to recruit Doctors or Health workers from Nigeria should pay for the training of the substitution of outgoing candidates.

“For countries that want to come and recruit doctors from Nigeria, or health workers, you should pay for the training of the substitution. I would say the equivalent of training two or more doctors, if you are taking one doctor out of our system. It is like tree planting, You go into the forest, when you do deforestation, afforestation must followed and afforestation must be encouraged. In fact, to regulate afforestation, for every tree you caught, you must replace it with two trees planted. You must give enough funding for training those two doctors,” he explained.

The former governor further called on State governors to prioritise the health sector by improving its funding.

“You heard what I said about health financing so we can ramp up the figures of people who are benefiting from health insurance. Not 100,000, not 200,000. We need to do it in the millions. We will be the third most populous country in the world by 2050 and It is not just enough to have a huge population, we need a viable population that can replace the workforce in the world,” he added.

In her goodwill message, the United States Centers for Disease Control (USCDC) Nigeria Country Director, Dr Mary Boyd, charged the State Commissioners, to make sacrifices for the honor of serving the communities from which they were born and raised.

According to her, “The chief goal must be to have a positive and lasting impact on the health outcomes of the most vulnerable members of our society”

“You have been appointed agents of change in your ecosystem- your visionary leadership, sense of mission, and political and persuasive competencies will be needed as you necessarily navigate the intersection of public health and clinical care to improve these health outcomes in your respective states,” she added.

Also, the World Health Organisation (WHO) country representative, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo emphasised that the health services in Nigeria requires uncommon approaches to make a remarkable difference.

“With the ongoing increase in the burden of non-communicable diseases on the background of the high burden of communicable diseases, multiple outbreaks, and the highest out-of-pocket expenditure on health in the region, more Nigerians are falling into poverty due to ill health while many do not have access to the quality essential health services they need.

“As leaders of the health sector very close to the people, it is demanded of you now more than ever, to keep PHC high on the agenda of your governments and ensure priority investment in its development,” he said.

The UNICEF Deputy Country Representative, Ms Rowan Khan noted that there is ample evidence to show that achieving universal health coverage and SDG3 targets requires effective country leadership,

“This includes mechanisms for navigating the complexities of a pluralistic health system such as Nigeria’s and ensuring that everyone is working towards a common goal.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Health Commissioners’ Forum, Dr Oyebanji Filani in his welcome address, disclosed that the aim of the retreat is simply to equip commissioners of health with key knowledge, skills and ethical foundations necessary for good governance.

“This retreat is critical as we transition from the fervour of electioneering to the practical responsibilities of governance, where decisions made today will shape the health landscape of tomorrow,” he said.