The Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, has said Nigeria has about 24 thousand actively licensed physicians caring for its over 200 million population as result of brain drain in the country.

NMA President, Ojinmah Uche, stated this yesterday in Abuja during a policy dialogue on Nigeria’s health sector brain drain and its implications for sustainable child and family health service delivery, organized by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in collaboration with the Partnership for Advancing Child and Family Health at Scale project of the development Research and Projects Centre.

He said this gives a horrible true ratio of approximately 1 doctor to 10,000 patients ratio.

Ojinmah said based on the World Health Organisation established minimum threshold, a country needs a mix of 23 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 population to deliver essential maternal and child health services.

He blamed brain drain on poor funding of the health sector, stressful medical education, non-existent house job slots, difficulty in gaining employment, poor remuneration, unnecessary and unhealthy inter-professional rivalry, insecurity, among others.