This was announced by Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Health, in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital during his visit to the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Aro.
According to him, health workers intending to move abroad for better opportunities must resign from their positions before they can leave, adding that President Bola Tinubu’s Executive Order includes this directive.
He stated that this action was adopted to counteract the phenomenon of brain drain, colloquially known as ‘Japa Syndrome,’ in the health sector.
The minister explained that the challenge had been that many health professionals who applied for leave of absence would travel outside the country to practice and make money, yet their names would still be on the payroll of government.
“That is the Presidential Executive Order which has been communicated to all the Chief Medical Directors of Federal Government owned health facilities to implement.
“So, to resolve this problem, the President has directed that any health worker going abroad to work should just resign his or her appointment.
The minister also revealed that the federal government had initiated a vigorous recruitment drive in the health sector. He mentioned that the annual enrolment of Nurses, which previously stood at about 28,000, had been increased to 68,000.
Furthermore, he stated that this number is expected to rise to 120,000 by the end of the year.
He said President Tinubu recognised the health workers as the country’s most valuable asset and committed to proactive measures to enhance the health sector for their welfare.
Addressing the shortage of manpower in the health sector, Alausa stated that the President had mandated extensive recruitment efforts to address the gap.
Statistics from Nigeria HealthWatch indicate that there are 80,000 doctors registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria as of June 2021, out of which only about 35,000 are practising in the country. The rest are practising overseas.
The health practitioners exodus in Nigeria is said to be due to inadequate compensation and unfavorable working conditions
Dr. Emeka Orji, President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, revealed in an interview that doctors in the country frequently resort to strikes to advocate for increased staffing and improved salaries, aiming to prevent the potential collapse of Nigeria’s healthcare sector.