The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, says the Federal Government will do everything possible to discourage doctors from leaving the country.
He said the government will provide the necessary incentives to make migration unattractive for the doctors.
NewsWireNGR recalls that in July, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) prevented 58 Nigerian doctors from travelling to the United Kingdom apparently to join the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). The reason the NIS gave for refusing to allow the doctors to depart on the chartered flight that came from London was that 56 of the doctors didn’t have valid visas.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that, Ehanire said this on Friday in Abuja after inspecting work on the new cancer centre at the National Hospital, Abuja.
“I have heard the challenge of doctors leaving the country. We have plans to provide better funding for our hospitals in Nigeria and make such migration unattractive,” he said.
According to NOI Polls conducted a survey in 2017, NewsWireNGR recalls the survey shows that 88 per cent of doctors in Nigeria were actively considering work opportunities abroad.
The minister also said that the hospital performed well during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, pledging that the government will do everything possible to ensure that doctors will prefer to remain and work in country.
Speaking further, the minister advised the hospital management to spend wisely, properly maintain the facilities when completed and seek alternative sources of funding.
He praised the hospital administrators for its prompt services to patients and advised them to be prepared for a possible resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic as other countries are now experiencing.
“Schools are resuming, people are travelling in and out the country so we must be prepared for any emergency,” he warned.
Also speaking, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Jaf Momoh, indicated that the hospital has introduced incentives to encourage medical personnel to stay in the country.
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