The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Plateau branch, has decried what it called the “internal brain drain” afflicting the state’s medical sector.

The association’s chairman in Plateau, Dr.Bapiga’an Audu, speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Jos, said that many doctors in Plateau were leaving the employment of the state government.

He said that most of those leaving were doing so to take employment at the Federal Government level and in some other state governments.

“Most doctors move from the state government’s employment to where they consider a more conducive environment.

“While the nation, generally, is confronted with the challenge of external brain drain, Plateau is specifically confronted with the challenge of internal brain drain.

“This act should be checked,” he said.

Audu attributed factors responsible for internal brain drain in Plateau medical sector to poor emolument and absence of advanced technology, among others.

He said the nation was beseeched with the plague of brain drain and medical tourism, and if not tackled would it consume the medical sector.

According to him, the NMA in Plateau is strategizing to engage major political actors before the general elections in 2023 to present areas of greatest need in the health care delivery system and a possible roadmap out of the quagmire.

He further said that the association intended to harmonize respective areas of competence of the different categories of doctors to address areas of manpower shortage in the state.

“Here, we are going to bring different doctors on the table with the government of Plateau, if the government is having a challenge of employing or retaining doctors of certain specialties.

“We can harmonize to find out the areas of need in the state.

“The NMA would liaise with the government to see how it can provide basic needs such as security and transportation to enable the doctors in certain specialization go to healthcare delivery facilities that lack such expertise,” Audu said.

He said that the step, aside from addressing the human capacity need, would also improve the revenue generation for the state government; as the need for patients’ referrals would be minimized greatly.