Bola Tinubu, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has approved a new policy to limit the number of health workers migrating from the country to the Western world.
In a statement signed by the coordinating minister of health and social welfare, Ali Pate, on Monday, he stated the policy.
The minister noted that the policy will encourage the professionals to return to the country with attractive packages and that it will easily integrate the health workers into the Nigerian health system.
The coordinating minister explained that the policy will use experts in the diaspora to address the lapses in the Nigerian health system and work with nations in Western countries to exchange health workers for the country’s benefit.
The statement explained that the ministry had developed the policy to protect the nation’s interests at all levels and respect health workers’ right to chase their dreams and aspirations anywhere in the world.
The policy, he noted, has been designed to train a health worker for Nigeria for every health worker who exits the country. The category of health worker he noted is the one that is publicly trained. Some of the benefits of the policy, he noted, are provisions for routine health checks, mental well-being support, and reasonable working hours, especially for younger doctors.
He stated that the policy would be overseen by the National Human Resources for Health Program within the Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with state governments. He said he would ensure proper implementation alignment with broader sector-wide health objectives.
Nigeria has been faced with the trend of medical personnel living in the country and searching for better working environments in developed countries of the world. The migration has caused medical facilities in the country to continue to search for medical personnel to staff their health establishments.
