NPMCN decries reduction in medical students registration, urges improvement in medical personnel welfare

Blessing Akorowosi

To save the nation from further healthcare decline, the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria has urged the federal government to embark on deliberate measures to ensure that medical trainers and specialists stay back in the country.

According to the new president of the college, Dr. Peter Ebeigbe, an urgent review of salaries and provision of other incentives to the medical personnel will save the healthcare system from imminent fall.

Ebeigbe, who spoke at his investiture ceremony as the 23rd President of the college, noted that stated that the number of candidates registering for examinations has dropped due to the large number of resident doctors leaving the country, as well as trainers.

His words, “The root cause of the brain drain is economic and economic interventions are urgently needed to stem the worsening cascade and prevent a collapse of the health system.

“Due to the decrease in the value of the naira to the dollar, the most senior Nigerian Consultant earns the equivalent of 300 dollars monthly outside any earnings for extra work. This is a decrease from the equivalent of around 1,450 dollars as of January last year.

“This amounts to an annual salary of about 3.600 dollars. Meanwhile, his colleague, who has travelled to the Middle East, earns up to 10,000 to 12,000 dollars in a month equivalent to his/her three years’ earnings. It will not be considered strange if any rational healthy human being asks him/herself why he/she is still here.”

He promised to keep up the significant progress of the college and build more successes.

In his speech, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, at the ceremony said the Federal government has substantially increased allocation to health and social services in the 2024 budget to address the financial challenges preventing Nigerians from accessing quality health services.

Alausa said the government has introduced an initiative centered around the provision of universal health coverage (UHC) with the objectives of saving lives, reducing both physical and financial pain, improving population health outcomes, accountability, maternal and child health, governance, affordable and quality health services for all Nigerians.

He declared that the College in collaboration with the Ministry is establishing training in many other subspecialties to be able to treat Nigerians, reduce medical tourism and enhance research.

“Our population’s health needs are becoming increasingly complex, necessitating a cadre of highly skilled specialists who can address these challenges with proficiency and precision.  “To meet these demands, we must prioritise the training and development of medical super-specialists across various disciplines,” the minister said.