Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire has explained that the mass exodus of medical doctors and other health professionals to Europe, USA and Canada is not peculiar to Nigeria but instead a global phenomenon.

The phenomenon popularly dubbed brain drain to highlight the massive relocation of the nation’s best abroad, he said, is driven by market forces, noting that other countries including Ghana, Gambia, Egypt, Turkey and even the United Kingdom, have also raised similar concerns.

Fielding reporters’ questions when he appeared at the 17th edition of PMB Administration Scorecard in Abuja, Dr Ehanire noted the high occupational mobility of health care professionals across the globe

“I want to note three points here. First of all this is not really an exodus. The very high workforce mobility of health workers is global. Doctors are moving,nurses are moving everywhere. I’ve had occasion to speak with other Ministers, even Ghana. They are losing doctors. There’s high mobility in the health sector globally, internationally.

“We should not knock ourselves as if we are the only victims on earth,no. I was at a meeting in the United States where the minister of health of Gambia was complaining too. That doctors they have are leaving. I’ve had opportunity to speak with authorities in UK who also complain that their doctors are moving to New Zealand and Canada where the pay is better. And its not only doctors,nurses. And in UK the nurses are not working in hospitals but in Carehomes for the elderly. There’s high need in those countries,they need a lot of (professional)people. So we don’t need to think we are doing something wrong, it is just the market forces working globally. This movement is global,” he said.

The minister disclosed however that government is not taking the matter lightly, saying measures are being put in place to reverse the exits by improving remuneration pf health care professionals through performance-based reward system.

“Here what are we doing about it, first we are doing what we can to improve the conditions of service. We have improved the hazard allowance and we are looking at improving remunerations.

“We also looking at how to introduce a better form of performance -based remuneration so that doctors will not just receive grade level salary but according to the work they do, trying to measure performances , and let people be happy that they have been properly rewarded for what they have done. I don’t think doctors and nurses are properly rewarded for the work they are doing,” he explained.

He added that the government is working at converting brain drain to brain gain by connecting Nigerian doctors, nurses and pharmacists in diaspora with universities, hospitals and health institutions in the country virtually to transfer their knowledge to the nation’s institutions.

On the furore raised about the rising COVID cases in China and elsewhere and what the country is doing about, the minister said the country is increasing surveillance.

While noting that the sub-variant of Covid 19 (Omicron) found in China, Uk, and USA are already in the country, he said the virus has been closely associated with the cold winter in those countries.

(Daily Independent)