No end to brain drain in Nigeria-Medical expert

By Tony Edike

ENUGU-A medical practitioner, Prof. Sam Ohaegbulam, has said that unless the Federal Government took urgent steps to improve the remuneration of medical doctors and equip the nation’s hospitals with modern facilities to enhance their performance, the brain drain that has hit the nation’s health sector in recent years will continue.

He said that with poor welfare package, insecurity, deplorable infrastructure in the hospitals, coupled with unconducive learning environment, most Nigerian doctors would continue to be tempted by the juicy carrot offered abroad.

In a paper, titled, Your future in your hands, presented at the swearing-in ceremony of medical graduands of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, at the weekend, Prof. Ohaegbulam said it was regrettable that after spending huge sums of money to produce one doctor, developed countries would lure them away with their superior facilities and better pay package.

He said: “Just think of the number of Nigerian doctors in USA, Europe and Asia, even those we send abroad for further training are reluctant to return because they know that they will not be able to put into practice most of the knowledge they have acquired due to poor facilities in our hospitals.”