2nd Right: Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, addressing newsmen during a press briefing on 2nd year of the second term in office of the State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
IBRAHIM QUADRI
Lagos State Government on Wednesday disclosed that it has put measures in place to address the shortfall in the number of doctors available in the State, noting that the State has a shortage of 33,000 doctors.
The State Commissioner for Health Services, Prof Akin Abayomi, made the disclosure during a press briefing to commemorate the 2nd year of the second term in office of the State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu at Alausa, Ikeja.
The Commissioner noted that according to World Health Organization, WHO’s standard, it is expected that doctor to doctor-to-patient ratio should be 1:200.
However, Abayomi stated that with over 20 million population, Lagos currently has 7,000 doctors, saying “We have a shortage of 33,000 doctors.”
He added that Nigeria as a whole has a shortage of 300,000 doctors, saying not less than 16,000 doctors had left the country in recent years.
Despite these challenges, the Commissioner stated that as a sub-national, Lagos is putting healthcare initiatives in place to tackle the gap.
With over 18,000 medical staff across primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities, Abayomi stated, “We are poised to tackle the challenges of healthcare in the State.”
Similarly, the State is taking congnizance of cutting-edge technology in its facilities, saying “We are planning strategically to address brain drain and increase brain gain. We have improved flow of funds into health sector.”
He added, “We have turned the corner, we have been able to see a reduction. We have seen diasporans coming to Lagos either permanently or coming and going. A lot of them are keying into our healthcare initiative. They have seen Lagos as the next frontier in meeting our target.”
He further added that the going by the statistics given by the Federal Government, not less than 16,000 doctors have left the shores of Nigeria in search of the greener pastures.
He stressed the State Government is building climate resilient facilities, by taking into consideration the State unique topography. “Many parts of Lagos are densely populated so the facilities are heavily built with concrete and others are built on sandfill. So when we build, we take all these into consideration.”
The Commissioner also hinted that the largest cancer centre in West Africa is located in Alausa, saying it is a comprehensive and special health facility to take care of the cancer patients.
In addition, the State Government, according to the Commissioner, will in the next 12 months inaugurate three massive secondary hospitals at Ojo, Lagos Island and Ketu-Ejirin.
Speaking on malaria disease, he advised Lagosians to always go for test whenever they have symptoms of fever, saying it is not every fever that is diagnosed as malaria.
“In the next one or two years, we can say in Lagos that we have eliminated malaria. 99 cases of fever are not malaria, so people should carry out test and get doctor’s prescription before buying drugs.”
For a better society
Follow us across our platforms:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/championnewsonline/
Facebook – https://web.facebook.com/championnewsonline
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/champion-newspapers-limited/
https://x.com/championnewsng/
You can also like and comment on our YouTube videos.
https://youtu.be/QIBfD1tT80w?si=R4Qf3so2LxYu3GC2
