Health
Enough Doctors’ comment: Ngige is ignorant, says NARD
BY: Sandra Ani
The NARD president, Olaopa, said Ngige spoke as a politician, adding that the nation would continue to lose doctors with advanced medical training.
He said, “Nigeria continues to lose doctors to other countries across all levels but the worst hit are those with advanced medical training who are required to use the national investment and training for the betterment of the populace.
“Does the minister even know the number of doctors in Nigeria or when was the last time he was involved in the provider end of health care? Such statement as this from handlers of the Federal Government makes you to wonder if the government is truly committed to solving problems of inadequate manpower in the health sector. Doctors overwork themselves even in urban setting let alone the non-availability of medical personnel in the rural areas.
“The minister is totally ignorant of the health system situation in Nigeria and it is unfortunate that someone who should know would make such a spurious pronouncement on national television. He spoke as a politician and nothing more. And we strongly doubt he represents the views of his paymasters.”
Olaopa said Ngige’s statement was uncalled for
“It is sad that somebody of his calibre will try to go to that extent of covering up a large degree of incompetence of not doing proper diligence. It shows that he does not even have the number of registered medical doctors practising in Nigeria.
“It is unfortunate that many of our politicians are used to urban lifestyles. They don’t know what is happening in the rural areas and they only pay lip service to health care development in Nigeria. It means we are not ready to identify the problems that we have in the health sector let alone providing solutions to them. Every time, doctors are stressing themselves out because we don’t have enough equipment and manpower.
“He spoke as a politician who does not know what is happening in the country. The doctors we are losing are not fresh doctors but specialists. That means that Nigeria will continue to battle with the shortage of specialist doctors.”
Ngige is wrong, we don’t have enough doctors – MDCAN
Also, the National President, Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, Prof Ngim Ngim, in an interview with The PUNCH, said Ngige was wrong about Nigeria having enough doctors.
He said, “I don’t know what must have informed the minister’s opinion, but the doctor: patient ratio in Nigeria is still far below the WHO recommendation. In as much as anybody has the right to travel out of the country, the government must put measures in place to give enough medical manpower in the country to take care of the population.
“Brain drain in the health sector is a big problem in the country; Nigeria does not have enough doctors, all efforts must, therefore, be made to keep the ones that are still in the country.”
SERAP faults minister
Also, SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, disagreed with the minister.
He said, “Let us take it one after the other. Everyone has a legal right to travel and work in any country that he or she wishes. But the minister should be asked; if he says we have sufficient medical doctors in Nigeria, he should tell us the areas of specialisation he means. Is it in the area of surgery or what is he telling us?
“This is because we know that Nigerians go on medical tourism and the basis they use for it is because there are no specialised doctors in those areas.
“What we should ask the minister is that in what areas of health is he saying that we have surplus medical doctors? If it is not in the critical areas of human health and Nigerians are forced to go abroad to seek treatments, then there is a problem.”
Brain drain should worry Ngige – People with disabilities
While commenting on the effect of the minister’s statement on Nigerians’ right to health, the President of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Ekaete Umoh, said the minister was wrong.
She said, “The minister did not do well. He should have tried to understand why the doctors are leaving. People have the right to move but if they are leaving in large numbers, we should be concerned.
“If they are leaving because we don’t have the infrastructure and if they are frustrated, that is a big problem for Nigeria. If you underfund the health sector, it is a big problem. A lot of the doctors would have loved to wait but they cannot practise under a difficult situation, Ngige should be worried. Do we have enough experts and specialists? We are losing.”
Source: Punch Newspapers
Health
Neptune Prime publisher to unveil cancer clinic, school, foundation for late journalists’ families as son weds in Yobe
The publisher of Neptune Prime newspapers, Dr Hassan Gimba, has announced plans to commission three major projects in his home state, Yobe State
In an invitation letter sent to newsmen on Wednesday, the publisher disclosed that the event, which is scheduled to take place on August 31, is coinciding with the wedding Fatiha of his son, Barrister Suleiman Gimba.
According to the letter, the wedding Fatiha will take place by 11:00am at the residence of Mohammed Babate, Behind Water Board, Army Barracks, Potiskum.
“Immediately after the wedding Fatihah, we will be commissioning the Hafsatu Gimba Ahmed Memorial School located at VIO Street, Unguwar Jaji, Potiskum.
“This institution is dedicated to the memory of my late mother, aiming to serve the educational needs of our community,” the letter noted.
Dr Gimba added that as part of the launch programme, the Abubakar Monja Lifeline Foundation for Late Journalists’ Families, which he founded to cater to the families of journalists who have passed away, will be empowering youths it trained in tailoring and plumbing.
“Additionally, I would like to invite you to inspect the ongoing construction of the Lami Fatima Babare Cancer Outreach and Clinic situated nearby, also in Unguwar Jaji.
“The clinic is an initiative of the Lami Fatima Babare Cervical Cancer Foundation, which was founded in 2020 – in memory of my late wife, Lami Fatima Babare – to provide medical services and referrals to cancer patients,” the letter noted.
The Enugu State Government has announced its intention to revamp the existing infrastructural facilities to give the Enugu State College of Health Technology in Oji River a face-lift and also scale-up institution to a technology-savvy citadel of learning.
The government made this known during a meeting with the management, staff, and students of the institution at the Enugu State Government House at the weekend, stressing its commitment to ensuring quality health service delivery in the state.
The government, which made this known through the Special Adviser on Health Matters, Dr. Yomi Jaye, also asked the students of the institution to go back to school and continue with their academic calendar, as all those involved in the recent breach of security in the school’s neighborhood had been rounded up and now facing the law.
The governor equally gave the college management a two-week ultimatum to develop a workplan, which the government would work on to ensure that the school functions at its optimum level.
Briefing Government House correspondents after the meeting, Dr. Jaye said, “We interacted with the management, staff and students of the Enugu State College of Health Technology, Orji River, to come up with a strategic plan to revamp the college and restore its lost glory.
His Excellency, Governor Peter Mbah, has expressed his willingness not only to revamp the school, but to upscale it to a technology-savvy teaching community.
“As you can see, the government is bullish about building Type-2 Healthcare Centre in each of the 260 wards and this college will produce some of the qualified workers that will deliver quality healthcare services to Ndi Enugu.
“We appeal to the parents and guardians to allow the students to go back to school and resume their academic activities as more security personnel have been deployed to make sure that both Oji River and its neighbouring communities are properly secured.
“It is also important to inform you that those who perpetrated the security breach have since been arrested and the victims, which included one student, also freed,” he maintained.
Also speaking, the Provost of the College, Dr. Lazarus Ezugwu, expressed his happiness over the state government’s move to revamp the institution, saying he was optimistic that the glory of the institution would be restored in no distant time.
When commending Governor Peter Mbah and the security agencies for their swift response to the recent security breach at the College, he also confirmed that security had been strengthened around the institution and Oji River in general.
“The meeting is such a commendable one. It goes a long way in telling us the type of visionary leader we have in the state. To be sincere, the total overhaul that will be done in the college is going to be enormous. What is coming to the college cannot be imagined because the governor has shown both special interest and political will. This is what we have been yearning for, for so many years,” Dr. Ezugwu stated.
Health
FP2030 Report Links Family Planning & Gender Equality
…The 2023 data report reveals that more women and girls than ever have access to family planning
FP2030 has launched its 2023 measurement report, Meeting the Moment: Family Planning and Gender Equality.
The 2023 report shows significant achievements in family planning across the globe, even in the face of stagnant funding.
Speaking during the launch of the 2023 annual measurement report in Washington DC, Dr. Samukeliso Dube, FP2030 executive director, said:
“In this report, you will hear more success stories: more people than ever before are using voluntary, rights-based contraception. You will also learn more about the opportunities ahead.”
The links between family planning and gender equality are the central theme of this year’s measurement report.
The data set covers 85 countries, including for the first time Botswana and Namibia, two middle-income countries that have now made commitments to FP2030, and Jordan, which has moved into the lower-middle income category.
The report showed that in the 85 countries reviewed there are over 1 billion women of reproductive age; an estimated 377 million of those women are using a modern method of contraception, 92 million more than were using a method in 2012.
“This year’s report comes at a critical time in our movement. We are at the intersection of several crises: globally, 800 women are dying every day in childbirth. 218 million women in the global south countries have an unmet need for modern contraception – meaning they want to avoid a pregnancy but are not using a modern method,” added Dr. Dube.
The movement for rights-based family planning is an integral part of the global push for gender equality.
Gender is at the root of every person’s ability to make and carry out decisions about sex, contraception, and sexual and reproductive health.
As the global push for gender equality gains strength, FP2030 affirms the central importance of rights-based, gender-transformative family planning.
The report is the first to fully reflect the impact of FP2030’s move to decentralize from one secretariat in Washington DC, to five regional hubs in Nairobi, Kenya; Abuja, Nigeria; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Panama City, Panama; to ensure that the partnership is driven by regional priorities.
The report contains demographic updates from each region, as well as a special focus on postpartum family planning, a topic chosen by the Regional Hubs, as a high impact practice with demonstrated ability to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes and increase uptake of contraception.
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