In order to more successfully provide healthcare services to the general population, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has urged its members to take good care of themselves.
On Sunday in Awka, the NMA called the conclusion of the 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Anambra Branch of the Association.
“Mass Emigration of Doctors and Other Health Workers: The Origin Challenges and Solution” was the theme of the AGM.
The call, according to the event’s chairman, Emeritus Prof. Okechukwu Mbonu, is vital to allow doctors to focus on their own health while caring for patients.
Mbonu, 83, urged the Federal Government to stop the brain drain or outmigration of skilled medical professionals in order to alleviate the ongoing shortage of personnel in the health sector.
To close the growing generational gap in the industry, he said it was important to address the causes of the “japa” or brain drain phenomena.
He said, “We should have frequent checkups because most of us take our health for granted. At 83, I’m still seeing patients and I don’t need glasses, so doctors should look out for themselves as well.
“The seniors hangout is a place where we can explain to our young people who want to leave the nation why they should stay and wait for the government to work things out.
“In our day, you had a car to get around before you graduated, but today, some consultants don’t have cars. You can do the math if a doctor is paid N800,000 here but 8,000 pounds in the UK.
“The System works better there, no fear of insecurity or kidnapping, as I am talking to you a professor was kidnapped on her way to the clinic in Calabar, and there is no word after five days,” he claimed.
Dr. Jide Onyekwelu, National Secretary of the NMA, also spoke, stating that since doctors are also people with the potential to be patients, they should each have a doctor to manage their health.
No doctor, according to Onyekwelu, could treat himself objectively because it is against the rules of ethics for them to treat their relatives.
Beyond complacency, he claimed, the ‘japa’ phenomenon, which had decreased the number of practicing physicians in Nigeria, had increased the burden on those who were still there.
Onyekwelu praised Dr. Jane Ezeonu and the NMA leadership in Anambra for their creativity and accomplishments during the previous year.
According to him, the young doctors’ summit gave the branch first-hand knowledge of the motives behind why graduating medical students are so eager to leave Nigeria and work abroad.
Ezeonu, the chairman of the NMA in Anambra, also spoke, calling the four-day AGM a success.
She claimed that the AGM got underway with a police outreach in which no fewer than 150 people received free medical care, and the Command received some basic supplies and equipment in exchange.
She claimed that the brain drain situation concerned the NMA in Anambra, who decided to question it in an effort to identify potential remedies.
“For this reason, we held the Young Doctors Summit, where we spoke with recently graduated physicians and medical professionals with fewer than ten years of experience.
She added, “We also had an AGM talk on the brain drain that is affecting the business.
She praised the teamwork of her executive team and hoped that the suggestions will be kept and improved upon.
