The Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) has clarified what the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, meant when he allegedly spoke of the importation of doctors from Europe and the United States of America.

The Minister was recently reported to have said that Nigeria is to “import medical doctors from abroad.”

However, the ministry, in a statement over the weekend signed by the Head, Media and Public Relations, Enefaa Bob-Manuel, said: “To set records straight, it should be noted that the minister spoke in reference to questions raised by honourable members of the House Committee on Diaspora, on what is being done to reduce medical tourism, and another question on medical missions to Nigeria by diaspora Nigerian specialists, to work with government in schemes that afford foreign-based experts an opportunity to serve their country for short periods and share their experience with their Nigerian colleagues.

“We stress that both initiatives are not about recruitment of people, but about volunteers willing to visit Nigeria for limited time periods without pay, to share skills and expertise on cutting-edge practices, to raise the capacity of Nigerian practitioners. The minister said these steps are to improve the quality of service delivery in our hospitals. No mention was made of ‘import’ of people. If anything, the ‘import’ is only of knowledge and latest skills from abroad.” (The Guardian)

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