By Ijeoma UKAZU
This year, a new report from the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, emerged stating that about 85 percent of Nigerian doctors are planning to leave the country to seek greener pastures abroad while stating that the United Kingdom is the most preferred destination.
In January 2022, NARD raised an alarm that the association has lost 2,000 of its members in the last two years of 2020 and 2021 to other countries through migration due to the poor state of healthcare services in the country.
To tackle this, the organizers of the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award, NHEA, have urged the new administration of President Bola Tinubu to mobilize resources to tackle the migration of health professionals abroad, provide low-interest loans for healthcare providers as well as improve the working conditions of health workers at all levels.
Addressing a press conference to announce the commencement of the online voting, for this year’s Nigeria Healthcare Excellence Award, has opened with 30,000 nominees received.
The Chairman, NHEA Advisory Committee, Dr. Anthony Omolola, who noted that the award has improved standards of healthcare delivery in the private sector by 95 percent, adding that the Tinubu administration should work towards achieving Universal Health Coverage, UHC.
Omolola said the government must provide the enabling environment to attract Nigerian health professionals overseas as well as end migration of those in the country abroad.
He further states “All we are advocating is total healthcare delivery to Nigerians within the healthcare space. There is a need for the government to pass the NHIA Act into law, and make loans available to the private health sector with low interest rates and a longer tenure of moratorium.
“There is a need for government to fix power as most facilities in the private sector are the local government of their own investment, they provide power, water, loan, roads, everything. If there can be provisions for these things by the government, private healthcare facilities’ efficiency will go up.
“Government must be slow with taxation as it was done in India, particularly, multiple taxation should be discouraged in healthcare. These are very inconveniencing for hospitals and all these costs will go back to Nigerians. The Japa syndrome, if we have a robust system and better economy in Nigeria those people that have left will come back and put into practice what they have learned there.”
Contributing, a member of NHEA, Dr Olaokun Soyinka, added that the government should find a way to improve the working conditions for the wide range of medical professionals at all times.
He continued, “With NHEA identifying and encouraging those high levels of quality in the private sector, what we are advising government is to improve the engagement in the private sector and use that to help to pull up the quality across the board.
“One example is liaising with the private sector for professional development, by sending nurses and doctors, physiotherapist to see what is happening in the private sector, see the standards that are there in the private sector that needs to also move to the public sector. So if NHEA is helping to challenge the private sector to raise their quality, the government should also tap into that quality to improve what they are offering to the citizens.”
While urging the government to focus on the revitalization of Primary Healthcare, PHCs, the Executive Director, of NHEA, Dr Wale Alabi, said the country has enough PHCs, and Tertiary hospitals, hence, the need to build the capacity of those professionals in specialized care, as well as encourage them by providing better working conditions.
Also speaking, Pharm Gbenga Olubowale recalled that the COVID era exposed the inability of the country to meet the drug needs of Nigerians, particularly, when some drug-producing countries stopped exporting.
“As of today, Nigeria is only able to manufacture about 45 percent of our drug needs. We cannot leave our drug security in the hands of Asians or Westerners. These are very key. The new government needs to do anything possible to ensure local drug manufacturers remain in business. What are the things we need, finances, what stop us from having a special facility; like we have the Bank of Industry, we can have a Health bank where by it will be a facility that understands how the health sector works.”
Olubowale said that online voting has commenced for the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award 2023, NHEA, for nominees who were able to scale the first round of assessments by the NHEA Jury.
Lending his voice, NHEA Director of Communication, Marketing, and Strategy, Moses Braimah, explained that the online voting was for nominees who were able to scale the first round of assessments by the NHEA Jury.
He listed some of the nominees to include; Duchess, Cedarcrest, AXA Mansard, Total Health Trust, GE Healthcare, JNC International, UBA, Access Bank, Echolab, Pyramid Diagnostics, and over 100 other organizations and individuals.
Braimah said, “Nomination closed on May 23rd, 2023, with so many surprises and excitements. We are now at the final stage where voting has commenced by the public and some categories of shortlisted nominees are being visited by our team of inspectors to verify claims made by nominators for nominees.”
NHEA Executive Secretary, Vivian Alikai said further added that the voting process requires the potential voter to visit the NHEA to register in order to create an account, which is then authenticated via the email provided by the registrant. After successful registration, the voter can then begin voting after login. “
She said voting will end at midnight on June 20, 2023. Winners will be announced at a grand ballroom ceremony on Friday, June 23, 2023, at Eko Hotel and Suites Victoria Island, Lagos.
The NHEA Jury shortlisted nominees from over 30,000 nominations that were received.
The award is aimed at recognizing and celebrating the achievements of personalities and organizations who have contributed immensely to the growth and development of the Nigerian health sector in the last year.
In addition, it will recognize the rapid growth of Nigeria’s healthcare sector, the role of technology, and the capacity of organizations and individuals to influence and set new performance standards in Nigeria and beyond.
NHEA, the Oscar of Nigeria healthcare, is supported by PharmAccess Foundation. The award is organized by Global Health Project and Resources, GHPR, in collaboration with Anadach Group, USA.
