NIGERIA — The Nigerian Medical Students Association (NiMSA) has expressed its opposition to the proposed Medical and Dental Practitioners Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
The proposed Medical and Dental Practitioners Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to require medical and dental graduates to work in Nigeria for five years before being granted a full license, has sparked controversy.
Brain drain is a significant challenge in Nigeria, as a significant number of medical professionals continue to emigrate to countries with better working conditions and remuneration packages.
The problem has become so severe that Nigeria has the third-highest number of foreign doctors working in the United Kingdom after India and Pakistan.
According to data from the UK medical council, there are 9,976 Nigerian doctors in the country, while Nigeria currently has only 24,000 licensed medical doctors for a population of over 200 million.
This shortage of medical professionals in the country is having a significant impact on healthcare in Nigeria, as the available doctors are overworked and under-resourced.
In some southern states, there is only one doctor available to treat 30,000 patients, while in the northern part of the country, the ratio is even worse, with only one doctor available to treat 45,000 patients.
The World Health Organization’s prescribed ratio is 2.5 medical workers (physicians, nurses, and midwives) per 1,000 individuals.
While the government believes that the bill is necessary to address the issue of brain drain in the country, the Nigerian Medical Students Association (NiMSA) has voiced its opposition, arguing that the bill violates the fundamental human rights of medical professionals and is aimed at strangulating the medical profession.
However, NiMSA has expressed concerns that the bill would violate the fundamental human rights of medical professionals and is targeted at strangulating the medical profession.
In an official statement, the association stated that “this bill will discourage students from pursuing medical education in Nigeria, which will further exacerbate the problem of the shortage of healthcare professionals.”
NiMSA has proposed an alternative solution that would make the issue of being trained with “taxpayer subsidies” optional.
They suggest having the option of paying for medical education at the real cost value, obtaining student loans, and going for subsidized medical education with the caveat of staying behind for a certain number of years to “pay back.”
The association also believes that the root causes of brain drain need to be addressed, including the lack of infrastructure, inadequate remuneration, and poor working conditions.
“The lack of infrastructure, inadequate and inappropriate remuneration, and poor working conditions are some of the major factors driving medical professionals away from Nigeria,” the statement said.
NiMSA argues that instead of forcing doctors to work in a particular location against their will, the government should create an enabling environment that encourages healthcare professionals to stay and work in Nigeria.
The association believes that doctors need to have a choice, even before they start their training, so that they can make better-informed decisions.
The proposed bill is arbitrary and unconstitutional, depriving Nigerian-trained medical and dental practitioners of their fundamental right to freedom of movement, according to NiMSA.
Instead, the association has called for a consultative collaboration with relevant stakeholders in the health sector to address the root causes and underlying issues that drive healthcare professionals away from Nigeria.
NiMSA has vehemently opposed the bill in part and in whole and the association has called on the sponsor of the bill to withdraw it with immediate effect and seek better ways of finding a lasting solution to the problem of brain drain.
The association has also proposed that the government should instead engage in consultative collaboration with relevant stakeholders in the health sector, coupled with the government’s willingness to address the root causes and underlying issues that drive healthcare professionals away from Nigeria.
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