FG Sets Up Committee To Check Strike, Brain Drain In Health Sector

The Federal Government of Nigeria has launched a committee on health sector reform to look at issues in the sector such as strikes and brain drain.

The Chief Medical Director of Federal Medical Centre in Abuja, Prof. Saad Ahmed disclosed this describing brain drain in the sector as a threat to the provision of healthcare services to the public.

According to him, the committee is already calling for memoranda from the public to help in its assignment.

Ahmed spoke in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Friday.

He said the FMC, Abuja had lost many staff members to brain drain in the last one year, adding that the development is affecting the hospital’s services.

He said, “The issue of brain drain is of serious concerns, which as Committee of CMDs, we were able to raise. I can tell you that the government has already set up a committee at the moment on health sector reform to look at the sector, to see areas where it needs to reform in order to stop restiveness and also the brain drain that we currently have.

“At the moment, that committee is calling for memoranda from members of the public and other stakeholders in order to help it in its assignment.

“Brain drain is one of the serious challenges that Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, is facing because I know the number of doctors, nurses and pharmacists that left this place within the last one year. They are quite a number.

“I think it is part of the things the reform committee is going to look at because we, leaders of the health sector, should be given some leverages to replace those that are leaving in order not to break services.”

Speaking also on medical tourism, Ahmed said the hospital has modern equipment at the moment to treat health issues that have been forcing Nigerians to seek help abroad.”

Ahmed said the attitudes of some health care workers were contributing to low patronage in most hospitals.