Brain Drain: Medical Students Urge FG To Halt Migration

The Nigeria Medical Students Association (NMSA) has called on the federal government to stop the brain drain in the health sector.

The call was made on Saturday by NMSA President Ejim Egba in a programme organised by the Healthcare Transformation Coalition (HTC) and held in Lagos.

Egba urged the government to take practical steps in addressing the alarming rate at which medical professionals are leaving the country.

“Having a structured and improved salary alongside a good welfare package will go a long way to resolve this issue.

“There is a very high deficit in the ratio of doctors to patients, and this is not in line with the World Health Organisation’s standard.

“The government must be pragmatic about its approach in areas such as salary, good working conditions, grants, training, and adequate security for health workers.

“Also, an improved education system would train more quality doctors to replace the ageing ones", he said.

”I know everybody loves to 'Japa' including me but the country needs us to fill this vacuum, and even some of our health workers outside can testify that the system is not encouraging", Egba added.