The Nigerian Medical Association of Nigeria, NMA, has expressed worries over the mass migration of doctors employed into Kaduna State Civil Service to other states and countries in search of greener pastures.
The doctors attributed this to poor remuneration, poor working conditions and having to work extra hours due to low manpower and lack of progression in the state.
The Chairman of NMA, Kaduna State Chapter, Dr Stephen Akau Kache made the comment at the 2019 Annual General Meeting and Science Conference with a theme: “Brain Drain and the Nigerian Health Care system: Challenges and Way Forward.”
The Chairman also said there was an exodus of doctors to other counties for a variety of reasons with a resultant shortage in number of doctors available to treat patients within the country.
“Today in Kaduna, the biggest challenge that is affecting our ability to achieve the desired health outcomes is that of Internal and external brain drain, as about 60 percent of doctors employed into the Kaduna State Civil Service leave to other states or other countries in search of greener pastures,” he said.
In his remarks, while declaring the conference open, the State Governor Nasiru Ahmed El’rufai, represented by his deputy Hajiza Balarabe, said the state government had recruited health workers in order to improve the health sector.
He also added that, though the state was not yet where it should be, the government was doing everything possible to make life better for its citizens.
Also, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Dr Solomon Avideme said brain drain will continue among medical practitioners unless the government improve working condition in the country.
He urged the government to tackle the problem of insecurity, adding that it was one of the reasons doctors were leaving the country.
