The Medical and Dental Practitioners Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which aims to make it mandatory for graduates in the medical and dentistry sectors to practice in Nigeria for five years before receiving a full license, has been approved by the House of Reps for second reading.
Ganiyu Johnson (APC/Lagos), the motion’s sponsor, claimed that the action was taken to stop the enormous flight of medical personnel from the nation.
Read Also: Nigeria Is At Deteriorating State, Presently Divided And Corroded — Obasanjo Laments
The Reps legislation is titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, Cap. M379, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to Mandate Any Nigeria Trained Medical or Dental Practitioner to Practice in Nigeria for a Minimum of Five Years Before Granted a Full License by the Council in Order to Make Quality Health Services Available to Nigeria; and for Related Matters.’
Nigeria has in recent times, especially after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, witnessed the mass migration of its professionals to developed countries, a development that is now known in local parlance as ‘Japa Syndrome.’
Johnson, who was in charge of directing the discussion of the bill, pointed out that the modification would require any medical or dental professional with Nigerian training to work there for at least five years before the council would award them a full license.
He claimed that this was done to ensure that Nigerians could get high-quality healthcare services given the country’s population growth tendency and the country’s present rate of medical and dental professionals leaving for other countries after receiving their education there.
Johnson said;
Nigeria currently has only 24,000 licensed medical doctors available in the country, less than 10 per cent of the number needed to meet the World Health Organisation recommendation.
According to the President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Uche Rowland, Nigeria requires a mix of 23 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 population to deliver essential health services, according to the WHO. He however stated that a large number of Nigerian doctors emigrated to seek greener pastures in developed countries, noting that 5,600 of them have migrated to the United Kingdom in the last eight years.
Now, only one doctor is available to treat 30,000 patients in some Southern states, while in the North, it is one doctor to 45,000 patients.
The lawmaker mentioned that a four-year education in medicine costs between £35,750 and £66,500 in tuition annually in the UK. According to the National Centre for Education Statistics, the average cost of studying medicine in the United States is between $82,000 and $104,000, without including incidental costs such as food, lodging, etc.
The legislator continued by stating that the cost of medical school in Canada might range from 52,000 to 169,000 CAD.
He stated;
With the latest mass relocation of trained doctors in Nigeria to the UK, the doctors patient ratio might become worse, leading to an overstretch of the already limited medical doctors workforce. This might push even more doctors to join their colleagues in a more favourable working environment, resulting in further losses to Nigeria.
In view of the foregoing, this bill, if considered and passed by this Green Chamber, will not only bring about the necessary social justice to the Nigerian people but also improve the health services available to Nigerians, because Nigerians will be able to enjoy the service of the medical doctors and dentists who were able to get trained through their resources, at least for the period of five years here proposed before migrating abroad.
However, Nigerians have reacted to the news with many criticizing the bill.
Here is a section of views from Twitter:
Dear @NGRSenate, if you're going to pass a bill preventing doctors from getting licensed till 5 years have passed
Kindly pass another bill preventing any serving government official from accessing healthcare outside the country until their service have elapsed
Good for goose…
— Dr. Chinonso Egemba (@aproko_doctor) April 6, 2023
Normally, Bills like this should elicit memoranda from medical professionals to intelligently engage the House on how to either abort this mission and work with a more viable alternative. But the responses have been underwhelming. https://t.co/lX2UDwVPX0
— Foundational Nupe Lawyer (@Egi_nupe_) April 6, 2023
By the time they're done with our doctors, Nigerians seeking scholarship opportunities abroad will be next.
They know that the country's brightest scholars and health practitioners are leaving.
But instead of addressing the factors making them to leave, they think making laws… https://t.co/W9ORYl4N2h
— Ugochukwu Madu (@UgochukwuCFR) April 6, 2023
It will be nice to pass a bill that compels everyone working and benefitting from the Nigerian government and their families to Nigerian medical, academic institutions… Other institutions to be considered as we progress.
thank you. https://t.co/VzrrA3wDza
— Teslim. (@VectorThaViper) April 6, 2023
https://twitter.com/erigganewmoney/status/1644032338135773195?t=vwccXSFJyoSVbO9-2XM4Ng&s=19
