Expert urges urgent action on health worker exodus

 

 

 

A public health expert has called for urgent and coordinated action to stem the growing exodus of healthcare workers from Nigeria, warning that the trend threatens service delivery and access to quality healthcare.

 

Mr Casmir Ifeanyi, National President of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

 

Ifeanyi said the continued migration of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals was placing enormous pressure on the country’s already strained health sector, worsening workforce shortages and affecting healthcare outcomes.

 

“The World Health Organization (WHO) provides what we call a ‘WISN’ Tool, known as World Staff Indicator, a human resource tool used to calculate exact number of health workers needed for health facilities and population.

 

“However, the WISN Tool has not been deployed in Nigeria,” he explained.

 

According to him, poor workforce planning, inadequate remuneration, weak accountability mechanisms and poor working conditions remain major factors driving the migration of healthcare professionals to countries offering better opportunities.

 

He added that understaffing had increased workload, burnout and fatigue among remaining health workers, thereby affecting service delivery and reducing the capacity of health facilities to meet growing demands.

 

Ifeanyi estimated that between 5,000 and 6,000 registered medical laboratory scientists leave Nigeria annually in search of better opportunities, contributing significantly to the country’s healthcare workforce challenges.

 

“If the issue began from COVID 2020, take an average of 5,000 and multiply for six years, this indicates that about 30,000 will leave the country.

 

“Out of 160,000, only 55,000 licensed doctors remain to serve Nigeria’s population sitting at one nurse for every 2,000 people below the WHO recommendations.”

 

According to Ifeanyi, Nigerian healthcare professionals are among the best globally, but many continue to leave because they seek better remuneration, improved welfare packages and more conducive working environments.

 

He attributed part of the challenge to poor governance and systemic inefficiencies, emphasising that available resources must be better managed to strengthen the health sector and improve workforce retention.

 

Ifeanyi said teaching hospitals generated substantial revenue through card fees, laboratory services and consultancy charges, adding that placing qualified professionals in appropriate positions would enhance accountability and efficiency.

 

He advised the government to adopt healthcare management structures that separated clinical responsibilities from administrative leadership, allowing healthcare professionals to focus more effectively on patient care and service delivery.

 

The AMLSN president said the current salaries of health workers were no longer commensurated with prevailing socio-economic realities, making it increasingly difficult to retain skilled professionals within the country.

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He warned that without urgent reforms, Nigeria could face a worsening shortage of skilled health workers, with far-reaching consequences for healthcare delivery and overall public health outcomes nationwide.

 

Ifeanyi urged the government to adopt the WHO’s WISN tool to ensure effective recruitment, equitable deployment and adequate staffing of healthcare workers across all levels of the health system.

 

 

(NAN)