Nigeria’s doctor to patient ratio now 1 to 6000 – FG laments medical brain drain

Adamu Adamu, Nigeria’s Minister of Education has decried the high level of brain drain in the health sector, saying it will take the country about 120 years to have the number of doctors it needs if all Nigerian doctors do not remain in the country.

The Minister said this while speaking at the maiden matriculation ceremony of the Federal University of Health Sciences Otukpo (FUSHO), held at its temporary site in Otada, Otukpo LGA of Benue State on Friday, November 5.

Represented by a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Arc. Sunny Echono, the Education Minister lamented that the quality of training, competence, and skills needed in the medical profession has remained problematic in the country as a result of a combination of inadequate personnel and facilities. He said statistics shows that doctor to patient ratio in Nigeria at 1:6000.

“Statistics have shown that doctor-patient ratio in Nigeria falls far short of the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, which stipulates ratio of one doctor to every 600 patients. This contrasts with the current 1:6000 ratio in Nigeria.

This was further exacerbated by the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic which exposed the weak institutional capacity for disease control and surveillance in the country.” he said

The Minister added that it was for this reason that the Federal Government established FUHSO, the first in the country, to bridge the huge gap with the benefit of a clear vision, strong leadership, an outstanding academic body, an innovative pedagogical model and management framework.

Adamu added that the institution was established to provide specialized training, research and facilities in the field of medical and health sciences that will reverse the brain drain in the education and health sectors of the nation’s economy.

In September 2021, TopNaija recalls that no fewer than 353 Nigerian doctors dumped Nigeria for the United Kingdom in 100 days, as the negotiation between striking doctors and government stalemated. According to a report by Punch, UK’s General Medical Council licensed the 353 Nigerian-trained doctors between June 10, 2021 and September 20, 2021