NMA urges realistic remuneration to retain doctors, stem brain-drain

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) says implementation of policy that enables an ongoing review in remuneration based on the country’s economic reality is the solution to talent retention in the healthcare sector.

NMA’s Lagos State Chairman, Dr Babajide Saheed, said this during a news conference in celebration of the annual National Physician’s Week on Monday in Lagos.

Saheed added that provision of other welfare packages with universal applicability was critical to ensure the retention of physicians and guarantee quality healthcare services.

According to him, governments at all levels continue to raise alarm on the negative impact of brain drain on the health sector with policy formulation and declarations of readiness to address the push factors.

“Surprisingly, there is practically nothing on ground that reflects the political will to implement the few policies that may bring about impactful interventions.

“Universal applicability refers to the ability of a concept, theory, and solution to be applied broadly and effectively across different contexts and situations.

“It should be adaptable, flexible, generalisable, scalable and relevant in terms of remuneration to all doctors in Nigeria.

“This implies that the remuneration of all the doctors in Nigeria should be the same no matter where they are working; CONMESS should be the minimum wage for doctors in Nigeria.

“Federal and state governments could engage in upward review that is commensurate with the cost of living in the country and the economic status of the states without waiting for NMA and its affiliates to agitate or result in industrial actions,” he said.

Saheed, however, said that universal applicability has never been achieved in Nigeria in spite of agitations, negotiations and advocacy on the issue by the national, state and FCT branches of NMA.

He said that this has led to internal brain drain with doctors moving from state government employment to federal government employment or from one state government employment to the other depending on which state pays more.

The chairman said this had led to drastic reduction in the number of doctors in the employment of states with poor remuneration.

According to him, the external brain drain, the ‘JAPA syndrome’, is due in part to poor remuneration, noting that remuneration of doctors in Nigeria is one of the worst globally.

He stressed that the current economic reality made the present remuneration, especially the medical salary scale, CONMESS, worthless and of no impact on the welfare of Nigerian doctors.

Saheed said that the physicians’ week themed “Ensuring Universal Applicability in Remuneration: A Panacea to Talent Retention in Healthcare Industry” would proffer comprehensive solution to the issue.

According to him, the week has a subtheme – “Mitigating the Impact of Infectious Diseases: Addressing the Monkeypox Outbreak and Beyond.”

Saheed said mitigating the impact of infectious diseases requires a multi-faceted approach that prioritises preparedness and response to outbreaks, institutionalisation of infection prevention and control best practices.

He said this included vaccination, water, sanitation and hygiene programme (WASH), vector control, and an effective surveillance system.

The chairman added that it required adequate infrastructure, capacity building of healthcare workforce, data-driven decision making, research in vaccine development, advancement in diagnostics and therapeutic innovations, among others.

Saheed said that seasoned experts would lead the discussions during the Scientific Conference including Prof. Abiodun Adewuya, Provost, Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM).

Others include Dr Ismail Abdulsalam, Director of Epidemiology, Lagos State Ministry of Health; Dr Bamidele Mutiu, Director, Lagos State Biobank, among others.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Physicians Week, which began on Oct. 27 will end on Nov. 2.