NUC: Stakeholders Urged To Invest In The Health Sector

The World Health Organization recommends a doctor-patient ratio of 1:600 globally, and according to the National Universities Commission, Nigeria is deficient in that aspect, as the country needs about 300,000 medical doctors to meet the basic standard.

At the flagship matriculation program of the Bayelsa Medical University, the Executive Secretary of the commission, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, made this statement.

Two-hundred and eight students partook in the matriculation oath.

The Prof. said that the “doctor-patient ratio in the country stands at 1: 3,500,” a far cry from the global standards, emphasizing the fact that this was one of the many struggles that the health sector was besieged with.

He also said that the number of medical students that the country churns out - about 3,000 - is not sufficient to meet the needs of the health sector.

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Speaking via a proxy, Mr Chris Maiyaki, the Prof. said, “With less than 40,000 registered medical doctors practising in Nigeria, the doctor-patient ratio in the country is about 1:3,500.

“What this means is that we need about 300,000 doctors to meet the World Health Organisation’s recommended doctor-patient ratio of 1:600.

“It is also common knowledge that the Nigerian health care sector continues to face myriad of challenges, chief among which is the brain-drain syndrome occasioned by an absence of the enabling environment for medical practitioners to thrive.”

He advised that stakeholders invest in health education and services to increase the presence of medical personnel in Nigeria's health sector.